Ruraidh Conlon O'Reilly - Extended Portfolio 2013

Ruraidh Conlon O’ReillyExtended Portfolio

April [email protected], 087-2964390

2. Useful LinksDigitised magazines online

3. Urban DelightsTourism Ireland magazines, 2012 and 2013

9. Technology and ExpertiseBlackrock Clinic magazine, 2010

11. The Ultimate SacrificeFirecall, summer 2012

15. Times A-ChangingBusiness Ireland yearbook 2012

16. A Tribute to Maurice NeliganBlackrock Clinic magazine, 2010

18. A History of Dublin SubculturesOne More Robot, summer 2012, based on chapter one of my master’s dissertation

24. Transatlantic ConnectionsCover story, InBusiness, Q1 2011

28. Music in the AirIreland of the Welcomes, Nov/Dec 2012

30. Meet... Robin AdamsCharacter interview, Tourism Ireland magazines, 2013

31. A Towering AchievementThe Garda Times, summer 2012

32. Digital TimesBusiness Ireland, spring 2012

33. The Feel-Good FactorInBusiness, Q2 2011

36. Irish Tourism’s Most Important MarketInBusiness, Q2 2011

37. An Irish WelcomeInBusiness, Q1 2011

39. The Shipping ForecastInBusiness, Q2 2011

41. Party AnimalsHot Press, September 10th 2008

45. The Guitarist’s Guitar PlayerHot Press, September 24th 2008

46. Seeing Is BelievingClane Hospital magazine, due q2 2013

47. Laser Surgery at ClaneClane Hospital magazine, due q2 2013

48. Cutting the TensionThe Consultant, summer 2010

Loyalist marching band outside Leinster House, published on page one of The Irish Times, February 2006.

2 Useful Links

Tourism Ireland (Project Manager/In-house Editor)

Ireland

College Green, Dublin

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Vacat ion Planner

CALL 800 SHAMROCKwww.discoverireland.com

FIND US ON FACEBOOKfacebook.com/DiscoverIreland

TITANIC100 years of history

CITY TRAILSExplore Ireland’s vibrant urban gems

Food HEAVENKeeping it fresh and local

ISLAND BEATHow music infuses Irish culture

The story of Waterford began with the arrival of the Vikings. Visit and you’ll be taken on a journey of 1,000 years of history within 1,000 paces.

Enjoy the elegance of the 18th century at the magnificent Bishop’s Palace, climb the jagged steps in Reginald’s Tower and stroll the charming streets of the Viking Triangle, Waterford’s historic city centre.

That’s just the start. You can also take a guided tour of the new Waterford Crystal Factory where you can feel the heat of the furnace and marvel at the craftsmen. After the tour enjoy a visit through our Exhibition and Retail Store. And there’s plenty more waiting for you too. With the best value hotels in Ireland, delicious Irish food and great shopping, isn’t it time you visited Waterford?

Begin your Waterford adventure at

www.DiscoverWaterfordCity.ie

The travel time from Dublin to Waterford is 1 hrs 45 mins on the M9.

Cork to Waterford is 1 hrs 30 mins on the N25.

WaterfordCork

DublinGalway

Belfast

Limerick

Exhibition and Library Shop open seven days a week

Admission TimesMonday to Saturday 09.30 to 17.00

Sunday (October to April) 12.00 to 16.30Sunday (May to September) 09.30 to 16.30

Tel: +353 (0) 1 896 2320 | Fax: +353 (0) 1 896 2690Email: [email protected] | www.bookofkells.ie

The Book of Kells

“Turning Darkness into Light”

The Long Room, Trinity College Library, Dublin

InbusCoverQ3_12.indd 1 01/11/2012 17:03:05

BUSINESSIRELAND

CONNECTING | INFLUENCING

Q3 2012 CITYCITY

Marking 25 years of the IFSC

BLUE THUNDER!Leinster CEO talks about the business of rugby

INNOVATION DUBLINShowcasing the city’s creativity

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2 2012

WITHIN A

FUTURE-PROOFThe importance of developing

Dublin office space

InBusiness (Deputy Editor)www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2012/inbusiness_

spring_2012/#/1

Business Ireland (Deputy Editor)www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2012/BI_Q3_2012indd/#/1

The Garda Times (Editor)Unavailable Online

Síocháin (Managing Editor)Unavailable Online

USA www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TIUSA2012/#/1Great Britain www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TI_GreatBritain_2012Canada www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TICAN2012/#/1Australia www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TIAUS2012Germany www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TIGER2012/#/1France www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TIFRA2012Spain www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TISPA2012Italy www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TIITA2012/#/1Netherlands www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TINET2012Nordics www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2011/TINOR2012

Health Matters (Project Manager/In-house Editor)

www.pagesonline.ie/issue/2013/Health_Matters_91

blackrock_cover.indd 1 02/12/2010 12:03:34

Blackrock Clinic Magazine (Editor)

Unavailable Online

ireland.com 5

Ireland’s cities are just like its people: warm, friendly, creative and with a sense of enjoyment found nowhere else in the world. They have very different personalities too, as you’ll get to know when you take a summer stroll around Galway with traditional music in the air, explore the history and heritage of Belfast, discuss literature over pints in Dublin, discover the secret greatness of Cork, enjoy the good times of a Limerick night or find out just why Derry~Londonderry is a city on the up. Whatever brought you here in the first place – your roots, the nightlife, the culture, the scenery, shopping, excitement, sport, friends, family or just the peace and quiet of the Irish countryside – you’ll surely find yourself drawn into more and more of the cities’ pleasures. Prepare to be surprised, as Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly guides you around a quick trip through seven of Ireland’s cities.

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Urban Delights 3

George’s Street Arcade, Dublin

of the city, with its calming atmosphere, stunning mix of architecture and the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells, a national treasure. Then there’s the wonderful National Museum of Ireland in three different locations, accompanied by historic Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol, the parliament and government at Leinster House, Christ Church Cathedral or the eye-opening Gaelic Athletic Association Museum at Croke Park – the list is long and you won’t be bored.

Culture vultures will feel instantly at home here too: try to catch a performance at the famous Abbey Theatre, the new O2 and Grand Canal Theatre venues, or the Gate Theatre for starters. The city’s wide variety of festivals means that there’s always something new to discover. If all this sounds very refined, Dublin’s other reputation precedes it: it’s the home of the black stuff, Guinness. A tour of the Guinness Storehouse is a

6 ireland.com

}A tour of the Guinness Storehouse is a necessity, with a perfectly-poured pint and breathtaking views of the cityscape from on high~

17BRIDGES CROSS OVER DUBLIN’S RIVER LIFFEY, FROM THE BAY WESTWARDS AS FAR AS HEUSTON STATION. THE LATEST IS 2009’S ICONIC SAMUEL BECKETT BRIDGE.

DUBLINDublin is not just the capital of the Republic of Ireland: it’s a capital of Europe and the world too. There are thousands of years of history built up on its streets, from the cobblestones of Temple Bar through historic Georgian Dublin to the shining new offices in the Docklands. Dublin is very much a city of the present and the future. This city’s heartbeat is strong. There’s something for everyone. Yes, the place has history in spades. There’s Trinity College, right in the centre

Dublin WalksDUBLIN CITY PUB CRAWL: Introduce yourself to the very best of Dublin’s craic, music and pub life, having a ‘few jars’ along the way and singing long into the night. PAT LIDDY’S WALKING TOURS: The veteran historian, writer and artist offers a variety of walks around Dublin, the spookiest being a stroll around Viking and medieval Dublin before meeting the mummies in St Michan’s Church. DUBLIN TOURISM iWALKS: Mp3 players at the ready; choose from a huge range of walks guided by your earphones – from bracing treks to the architectural delights of Georgian Dublin. 1916 REBELLION WALKING TOURS: Visit the sites of the Easter Rising and relive the Republic’s fight for independence in the capable hands of expert historians. JAMES JOYCE WALKING TOURS: Dublin and the legendary writer walk hand-in-hand, so see if you can make sense of his work on this laughter-packed wander in the care of the James Joyce Centre.

The popular Molly Malone statue, Dublin

necessity. Smithfield, a short stroll away, is the home of the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery. Temple Bar, Dublin’s cultural quarter, contains some of the city’s most famous drinking establishments, where all tastes are catered for.

Bloomsday enthusiastically celebrates Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ every June 16th. The Dublin Writers Museum is an important port of call in this UNESCO City of Literature: its exhibits and events celebrate the best of Irish writing. Dublin’s contemporary art scene is thriving at present. At one end of the scale, there’s the superb National Gallery and renowned Irish Museum of Modern Art, but there’s also an independent movement helping to make Dublin a leading European city for the arts.

One of the biggest events in Dublin is the Saint Patrick’s Festival, a week- long celebration of Ireland’s people and culture with the huge Saint Patrick’s Day Parade as its centrepiece every March 17th.

Dublin is also a great base to set out from: there’s the beauty of the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains to the south, with the Powerscourt estate and gardens, picturesque Glendalough and stunning scenery. Use Dublin as a base to see Newgrange, the Hill of Tara and the ancient treasures of the Boyne Valley and you won’t be disappointed.

4 Urban Delights

George’s Street Arcade, Dublin

of the city, with its calming atmosphere, stunning mix of architecture and the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells, a national treasure. Then there’s the wonderful National Museum of Ireland in three different locations, accompanied by historic Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol, the parliament and government at Leinster House, Christ Church Cathedral or the eye-opening Gaelic Athletic Association Museum at Croke Park – the list is long and you won’t be bored.

Culture vultures will feel instantly at home here too: try to catch a performance at the famous Abbey Theatre, the new O2 and Grand Canal Theatre venues, or the Gate Theatre for starters. The city’s wide variety of festivals means that there’s always something new to discover. If all this sounds very refined, Dublin’s other reputation precedes it: it’s the home of the black stuff, Guinness. A tour of the Guinness Storehouse is a

6 ireland.com

}A tour of the Guinness Storehouse is a necessity, with a perfectly-poured pint and breathtaking views of the cityscape from on high~

17BRIDGES CROSS OVER DUBLIN’S RIVER LIFFEY, FROM THE BAY WESTWARDS AS FAR AS HEUSTON STATION. THE LATEST IS 2009’S ICONIC SAMUEL BECKETT BRIDGE.

DUBLINDublin is not just the capital of the Republic of Ireland: it’s a capital of Europe and the world too. There are thousands of years of history built up on its streets, from the cobblestones of Temple Bar through historic Georgian Dublin to the shining new offices in the Docklands. Dublin is very much a city of the present and the future. This city’s heartbeat is strong. There’s something for everyone. Yes, the place has history in spades. There’s Trinity College, right in the centre

Dublin WalksDUBLIN CITY PUB CRAWL: Introduce yourself to the very best of Dublin’s craic, music and pub life, having a ‘few jars’ along the way and singing long into the night. PAT LIDDY’S WALKING TOURS: The veteran historian, writer and artist offers a variety of walks around Dublin, the spookiest being a stroll around Viking and medieval Dublin before meeting the mummies in St Michan’s Church. DUBLIN TOURISM iWALKS: Mp3 players at the ready; choose from a huge range of walks guided by your earphones – from bracing treks to the architectural delights of Georgian Dublin. 1916 REBELLION WALKING TOURS: Visit the sites of the Easter Rising and relive the Republic’s fight for independence in the capable hands of expert historians. JAMES JOYCE WALKING TOURS: Dublin and the legendary writer walk hand-in-hand, so see if you can make sense of his work on this laughter-packed wander in the care of the James Joyce Centre.

The popular Molly Malone statue, Dublin

necessity. Smithfield, a short stroll away, is the home of the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery. Temple Bar, Dublin’s cultural quarter, contains some of the city’s most famous drinking establishments, where all tastes are catered for.

Bloomsday enthusiastically celebrates Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ every June 16th. The Dublin Writers Museum is an important port of call in this UNESCO City of Literature: its exhibits and events celebrate the best of Irish writing. Dublin’s contemporary art scene is thriving at present. At one end of the scale, there’s the superb National Gallery and renowned Irish Museum of Modern Art, but there’s also an independent movement helping to make Dublin a leading European city for the arts.

One of the biggest events in Dublin is the Saint Patrick’s Festival, a week- long celebration of Ireland’s people and culture with the huge Saint Patrick’s Day Parade as its centrepiece every March 17th.

Dublin is also a great base to set out from: there’s the beauty of the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains to the south, with the Powerscourt estate and gardens, picturesque Glendalough and stunning scenery. Use Dublin as a base to see Newgrange, the Hill of Tara and the ancient treasures of the Boyne Valley and you won’t be disappointed.

BELFASTNorthern Ireland’s capital is a major city in its own right and is the gateway to the north. It is a city busy with its own rejuvenation: modern-day Belfast is a more interesting, more vibrant and more open city than ever before. Whether this is expressed through culture and the arts, through its increasingly friendly welcome or through the warmth of company in its burgeoning café and restaurant life, Belfast’s stock is on the rise.

It is a city with a past, of course. Its heartfelt anniversary celebrations of the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, which was built in Belfast, were an extraordinary tribute to all things Titanic and all things Belfast: the memories live on. Those memories are not just on display for the Titanic Festival, but also in the Titanic Quarter and Titanic Belfast,® a landmark new building where Belfast’s waterfront was an engine of great wealth.

It’s no surprise to find Belfast in thrall to a strong musical culture. The evidence? Belfast’s Grand Opera House, its Odyssey Arena and its Waterfront Hall, which host the best in local and international entertainment. Then there’s the Belfast Music Tour, which explores figures like Van Morrison or the recently-deceased Gary Moore, finishing up at the famous Oh Yeah Music Centre. The contemporary music scene is thriving too, and the arrival of the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) in 2011 was a seal of approval.

Music is an important part of the city’s mood, and architecture is another: Victorian and Edwardian buildings of various styles populate busy shopping streets and squares. There’s the majestic façade of Queen’s University in the south of the city, itself an important and energetic cultural quarter. Or take Belfast City Hall for example, sitting right in the heart of the city centre. Speaking of history, bear in mind the award-winning Ulster Museum in the Botanic Gardens, from which it’s only a short trip to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra.

The history and sightseeing are never quite done: at the Crown Bar, dating from 1885, visitors can relax with a quiet drink in extraordinary, timeless surroundings. As for the city’s more recent history, bus and Black Taxi Tours offer a revealing insight into the troubles of the past and the wall mural traditions of each area.

Need to recharge your batteries? Anyone who loves good food will love Belfast too. All those activities make a person hungry, and the city’s restaurants and cafés offer quality, diversity and value. Try St. George’s Market on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning. Reserve a table at Deanes, Cayenne or any of the city’s other famous restaurants, but be sure not to spoil your appetite for the Belfast Taste and Music Festival (August).

Families and children of all ages are more than welcome in Belfast, with a wide range

ireland.com 7

}Through culture and the arts, and a burgeoning café and restaurant scene, Belfast’s stock is on the rise~

Belfast City Hall

St George’s Market

Belfast FestivalsULSTER BANK BELFAST FESTIVAL AT QUEEN’S: This long-running arts festival in October passed the half-century mark last year and has led the way with the very best of music, theatre and literature throughout the decades, from cult heroes to international superstars. FÉILE AN PHOBAIL: The very welcoming West Belfast Festival in August is a celebration of local, Gaelic and international arts cultures. It is hosted by the city’s Falls Road community but is open to one and all. CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL: A top-notch international festival in May with an indie edge, cool but not exclusive, the obvious and the unexpected unite in this trendy and rejuvenated quarter of Belfast. BELFAST FILM FESTIVAL: Anything Cannes can do, Belfast can do better – this plucky big screen party is run by cinephiles for cinephiles, and look out for their special screenings in unusual locations during April. BELFAST TITANIC MARITIME FESTIVAL: Remember Belfast’s most famous export in an extravaganza in May, paying tribute to the tragic ocean liner, the people who built it and the city that gave birth to it.

of attractions like the Zoo, Belfast Castle, with its wonderful views of the city, and the W5 discovery centre.

As for festivals, there’s always something on, and not just the Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival. Take the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s in late autumn. The city is teeming with energy, especially in the regenerated Cathedral Quarter, the centrepiece of hip Belfast. Or why not check out the recently refurbished Lyric Theatre, or the MAC (the Metropolitan Arts Centre), Belfast’s new arts centre and world-class home for the arts in Belfast.

882FEET (269M) WAS THE LENGTH OF THE RMS TITANIC, BUILT IN BELFAST, WHICH MADE ITS TRAGIC VOYAGE IN APRIL 1912.

Good times at The Crown Bar, Belfast

4

Urban Delights 5

St. Columb’s Cathedral, Derry~Londonderry

CORKSpend any time around Corkonians and you may hear talk of the ‘People’s Republic of Cork’ and the ‘real capital’. You’re also likely to see T-shirts proclaiming the place a separate country. They’re a proud lot, then, and the tongue-in-cheek sense of humour is directed against arch-rival Dublin. It just makes the place more fun: Cork, on the banks of the lovely River Lee, is a breath of fresh air and the third-largest city on the island. It’s overlooked by the Shandon Bells of St Anne’s Church, known as the four-faced liar because of its famous and unreliable clock. Visitors are allowed to ring the bells, a feature of Cork life, but only after climbing 120 feet up the tower. The English Market is another Cork institution. Built in 1788, it is a food market of character – with a wide range of human and gastronomic entertainment on offer. As for drink, while Dublin will always have Guinness, Beamish and Murphy’s are the stouts of choice in this part of the world.

Cork loves its music – perhaps its most famous son was Rory Gallagher – and the Cork Jazz Festival is a highlight in Ireland’s musical diary. Welcoming over 1,000 musicians, many times that number flock to numerous festival venues across Cork city and county every October.

Again, the best way to see Cork is by walking: numerous walking tours cater for all interests. Cork has always been a maritime city: Saint Fin Barre built a monastery here, and the Vikings settled here too. Much later on, nearby Cobh

became a busy port and the Titanic’s last stop on its first and only voyage. In The Queenstown Story – Queenstown being Cobh’s previous name – the heartbreak of Irish emigration is told at Cobh Heritage Centre. On a happier and more contemporary note, Cork is close to the internationally-famed Fota Wildlife Park, where giraffes and lemurs mingle with children of all ages.

A visit to Cork is also an invitation to explore the south of the island, such as wonderful Kinsale – a picturesque and fashionable town offering the very best in food, hospitality and a relaxed way of life. Blarney Castle is always a popular stop, where tourists who kiss the Blarney Stone gain the gift of the gab. The beautiful south coast has its own maritime history, so much of it centred around the famous port of Cobh, making Cork a fine base from which to explore the many pleasures of the sea.

8 ireland.com

DERRY~LONDONDERRYCelebrations continue in Derry~Londonderry, after it was named the first UK City of Culture for 2013. The fully-intact walled city, also known as Derry, is located on the River Foyle and is steeped in history just waiting to be discovered. Take the recently restored St. Columb’s Cathedral (1633), for instance, or the Guildhall (1890), which has long been a political and cultural centre point. Then there are the walls themselves – built in a diamond shape with four gates, the planned city was thought to offer better protection – and so it proved. The full tale is told by the Story of Derry exhibition at the award-winning Tower Museum, well worth a visit. So is its other exhibition, An Armada Shipwreck – La Trinidad Valencera – telling the story of the Spanish Armada vessel wrecked in 1588. As with Belfast, the conflicts of the more recent past can be explored in a sensitive way through bus and taxi tours, and museums too.

Don’t worry about the history overload though: the city does shopping, relaxation and celebration in great measure. The Hallowe’en Carnival is one highlight, with fireworks in the sky and fancy dressed

81m:THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE REPUBLIC IS THE 17-STOREY ELYSIAN IN CORK, OPENED IN 2008.

}Spend any time around Corkonians and you may hear talk of the ‘People’s Republic of Cork’ and Ireland’s ‘real capital’~

English Market, Cork

Blarney Castle, Co. Cork

TOWER MUSEUM, DERRY~LONDONDERRY

The Tower Museum offers a fun and educational way to learn about the history of Derry~Londonderry. The museum has won four awards since opening in 1992. Two permanent interactive exhibitions tell of the formation of this historic city. The fifth floor of the museum is a spectacular open-air setting with panoramic views of the city and River Foyle.

6 Urban Delights

St. Columb’s Cathedral, Derry~Londonderry

CORKSpend any time around Corkonians and you may hear talk of the ‘People’s Republic of Cork’ and the ‘real capital’. You’re also likely to see T-shirts proclaiming the place a separate country. They’re a proud lot, then, and the tongue-in-cheek sense of humour is directed against arch-rival Dublin. It just makes the place more fun: Cork, on the banks of the lovely River Lee, is a breath of fresh air and the third-largest city on the island. It’s overlooked by the Shandon Bells of St Anne’s Church, known as the four-faced liar because of its famous and unreliable clock. Visitors are allowed to ring the bells, a feature of Cork life, but only after climbing 120 feet up the tower. The English Market is another Cork institution. Built in 1788, it is a food market of character – with a wide range of human and gastronomic entertainment on offer. As for drink, while Dublin will always have Guinness, Beamish and Murphy’s are the stouts of choice in this part of the world.

Cork loves its music – perhaps its most famous son was Rory Gallagher – and the Cork Jazz Festival is a highlight in Ireland’s musical diary. Welcoming over 1,000 musicians, many times that number flock to numerous festival venues across Cork city and county every October.

Again, the best way to see Cork is by walking: numerous walking tours cater for all interests. Cork has always been a maritime city: Saint Fin Barre built a monastery here, and the Vikings settled here too. Much later on, nearby Cobh

became a busy port and the Titanic’s last stop on its first and only voyage. In The Queenstown Story – Queenstown being Cobh’s previous name – the heartbreak of Irish emigration is told at Cobh Heritage Centre. On a happier and more contemporary note, Cork is close to the internationally-famed Fota Wildlife Park, where giraffes and lemurs mingle with children of all ages.

A visit to Cork is also an invitation to explore the south of the island, such as wonderful Kinsale – a picturesque and fashionable town offering the very best in food, hospitality and a relaxed way of life. Blarney Castle is always a popular stop, where tourists who kiss the Blarney Stone gain the gift of the gab. The beautiful south coast has its own maritime history, so much of it centred around the famous port of Cobh, making Cork a fine base from which to explore the many pleasures of the sea.

8 ireland.com

DERRY~LONDONDERRYCelebrations continue in Derry~Londonderry, after it was named the first UK City of Culture for 2013. The fully-intact walled city, also known as Derry, is located on the River Foyle and is steeped in history just waiting to be discovered. Take the recently restored St. Columb’s Cathedral (1633), for instance, or the Guildhall (1890), which has long been a political and cultural centre point. Then there are the walls themselves – built in a diamond shape with four gates, the planned city was thought to offer better protection – and so it proved. The full tale is told by the Story of Derry exhibition at the award-winning Tower Museum, well worth a visit. So is its other exhibition, An Armada Shipwreck – La Trinidad Valencera – telling the story of the Spanish Armada vessel wrecked in 1588. As with Belfast, the conflicts of the more recent past can be explored in a sensitive way through bus and taxi tours, and museums too.

Don’t worry about the history overload though: the city does shopping, relaxation and celebration in great measure. The Hallowe’en Carnival is one highlight, with fireworks in the sky and fancy dressed

81m:THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE REPUBLIC IS THE 17-STOREY ELYSIAN IN CORK, OPENED IN 2008.

}Spend any time around Corkonians and you may hear talk of the ‘People’s Republic of Cork’ and Ireland’s ‘real capital’~

English Market, Cork

Blarney Castle, Co. Cork

TOWER MUSEUM, DERRY~LONDONDERRY

The Tower Museum offers a fun and educational way to learn about the history of Derry~Londonderry. The museum has won four awards since opening in 1992. Two permanent interactive exhibitions tell of the formation of this historic city. The fifth floor of the museum is a spectacular open-air setting with panoramic views of the city and River Foyle.

©iStockphoto.com/o-che

revellers spilling out onto the streets in the thousands. For comedy instead of horror, there’s the Big Tickle Festival at The Playhouse Theatre in September. Then there’s the long-standing Foyle Film Festival in November. As for shopping, Austin’s Department Store, in The Diamond, claims to be the world’s oldest – 1830 – making it older than Harrods or Macy’s. Or call in to the Craft Village, also in the heart of the city, stepping back in time to a reconstructed 18th-century street and 19th-century square.

Derry~Londonderry’s cultural regeneration has brought about a fresh new face to this vibrant city as the constraints of the past are put behind. Meanwhile, explore two sides of the city’s history at the First Presbyterian Church and the Museum of Free Derry.

There’s another side to the city too: just as Belfast unlocks the north east, Derry is a vital jumping-off point for the north west. There’s plenty to see and do: beautiful and wild Donegal, its Inishowen peninsula, the Sperrin Mountains and the extraordinary scenery of the Londonderry-Coleraine train journey, with the Giant’s Causeway beyond.

GALWAY In many ways, Galway is the most traditionally Irish of the cities. Located on the west coast and at the corner of one of the remaining ‘Gaeltacht’ Gaelic language areas, the city buzzes with echoes of the native tongue. Galway is the City of the Tribes: in years gone by, 14 tribes ruled. The Middle Ages was the making of the place, and the narrow medieval streets throng with a young population and plenty of students from the city’s university. The hub of the city is Eyre Square, which has recently been regenerated. A walk along the promenade at Salthill is a firm favourite, one of the last stops westwards before the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. A key feature of Galway life will always be its proximity to Connemara, a region of rich beauty and enduring native culture.

The comfortable lifestyle is perhaps Galway’s main draw, but the events that the city hosts are another. There’s the Galway Races every July, one of the world’s biggest horse race meetings and an occasion of legendary revelry and celebration. Also that month, the Galway Arts Festival brings thousands

of visitors and performers into the city for a carnival of the visual and performing arts. New films are presented at the Galway Film Fleadh around the same time, a must for cinema lovers. Foodies are well catered for too: the International Oyster Festival takes place in September, the start of the oyster season. It’s not just oysters, though. There’s Guinness and music too. Since Galway is a literary city, there’s the Cúirt International Festival of Literature in April, boasting a superb programme of bookish talks, events and fun. It’s a family-friendly town too – children have their own international arts festival called Babaró, held in October.

Galway people have come to expect the call of Connemara and the Burren to distract their visitors, and so once again the city is a good base for exploring further afield. Take Claddagh, for example: a fishing village on the edge of Galway, on the bay, also where the famous Claddagh ring originated. The ring has three elements: hands for friendship, a heart for love, and a crown for loyalty. Today visitors to Galway, Claddagh and the west coast will experience all three.

ireland.com 9

14TRIBES JOINTLY RULED GALWAY DURING THE MIDDLE AGES, GIVING IT THE NICKNAME STILL IN USE TODAY 0F ‘CITY OF THE TRIBES’.

}The Middle Ages were the making of the place, and the narrow medieval streets throng with a young population~Galway’s narrow streets are well worth exploring for hidden gems

4

INTERNATIONAL OYSTER FESTIVAL, GALWAY

If you thought oysters weren’t rock and roll, it might be time to think again. The Oyster Festival is a weekend-long party, with music, a gala ball and a parade sharing the bill with the World Oyster Opening Championship. It’s all in honour of the delicious Galway oyster and the best in Irish seafood.

Urban Delights 7

WATERFORDWaterford’s love affair with the sea continues, after the visit of the Tall Ships Race in 2011 (and Dublin in 2012). Waterford city was founded in 914 by the seafaring Vikings, making it the country’s oldest city, and those maritime connections are still to be found on its crest and by walking down the quay. There’s plenty of heritage to be found in historical attractions like Reginald’s Tower and the Medieval Museum. Don’t forget Waterford Crystal though: the famous glassware is made before your very eyes at the new House of Waterford Crystal, the visitors’ centre that opened in 2010.

The pace of life in Waterford, as with the rest of the “sunny south-east”, is friendly. Shopping and sport are high on the agenda in this part of the world, with fine golf courses and an accessible arts scene worth shouting about. The city’s Theatre Royal and Garter Lane Arts Centre are particularly popular. The Spraoí festival, each August, is an occasion of celebration for the region: it takes in a year’s worth of art in three hyperactive days of street art and music.

Visit Waterford and you may find yourself drawn further afield – to the laidback seaside resort of Tramore, with its amusements and good times for all ages, or to the monastic heritage town of Lismore. The south-east is also a good place to experience one of Ireland’s great sporting rivalries: Waterford and Kilkenny are passionate enemies when it comes to the extraordinary native Gaelic game of hurling.<

10 ireland.com

}To the north sits the Burren, a rocky area of incredible natural beauty in County Clare, and one of the most extraordinary sights in Ireland~

Being an Irish city, history is to be found everywhere: there’s King John’s Castle, an immense Anglo-Norman fortification dating from around 1200AD. More recently, the Angela’s Ashes walking tour visits the Limerick of Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller – that poverty is gone, but the story is brought to life by a superb guide. As for festivals, try the annual Limerick Riverfest in spring, where water and the arts mix for one big party, or just go out on the town any weekend: the pub and club scene is energetic.

LIMERICKWhere Ireland’s longest river, the Shannon, meets the Atlantic on the west coast lies a busy and fascinating city, Limerick. To the north sits the Burren, a rocky area of incredible natural beauty in County Clare, and one of the most extraordinary sights in Ireland. To the south is the stunning scenery of the Ring of Kerry. Both are easily reached from Limerick, but it’s an engrossing city in its own right.

Limerick punches above its weight, and the Hunt Museum is a good place to see how: works by Picasso, Gaugin, Jack B. Yeats or Roderic O’Conor hang in the same building as ancient artefacts from Greece, Rome and Egypt, as well as native Irish Bronze Age and Christian-era pieces. Then there’s sport: the new Thomond Park is the home of Munster, whose underdog heroes beat the All Blacks, won the European Cup and make up much of the personality of the Irish rugby team.

Detour Delights

Laughter There’s no better time to visit historic Kilkenny than early June, where the cream of IRISH AND INTERNATIONAL COMEDY converges on the city of the Butler family for a weekend of stand-up and high jinks. Irish comedy just keeps getting funnier and more popular, and it’s a good excuse to visit KILKENNY CASTLE and check out the best in Irish crafts there and around the city.

History off the beaten trackBelfast and Derry~Londonderry aren’t the only cities in Northern Ireland. Try LISBURN, NEWRY and ARMAGH for size. Each has a tale to tell, from the ecclesiastical centre of Armagh to the story of industry at the Linen Museum in Lisburn.

40MAGNIFICENT SHIPS CROSSED THE STARTING LINE AT HOOK HEAD IN THE 2011 TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL IN JUNE.

Discover moreFor more information on the island’s different towns and cities visit ireland.com

Spraoí festival, Waterford

King John’s Castle, Limerick

Set dancing, Limerick

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8 Useful Links

Blackrock Clinic has long been known as one of the most advanced centres for medical

technology in the country, with a high level of investment in the latest developments.

The Engineering Department, run by Head of Engineering Michael McGowan, leads the Clinic’s drive to deliver the most modern infrastructure available. Their remit includes Blackrock’s advanced imaging hardware, located in units such as Radiology and Pathology, and helping to provide patients with the highest level of care possible. The catalogue of CT, MRI, PET/CT and SPECT/CT equipment, to name just the most high-profile pieces, is long and not for the technologically shy.

Engineering is responsible for the management of the facilities – mechanical, electrical and medical. They deal with all medical equipment onsite, from diagnostic equipment down through patient monitoring, telemetry systems, and analytical systems like the catheterisation laboratories.

The majority of the technology is maintained directly by the Department, and that is its great advantage: its clinical engineers are trained to respond, first line, to any piece of equipment. This means that downtime is minimised: when they materialise, many of the problems associated with medical equipment are

relatively minor. Able to fix them rapidly, without having to rely on outside agencies, the Blackrock Clinic can also ensure that the right quality of procedures are in place, and the result is greater uptime.

All of this medical technology rests on the support of the IT Department and its infrastructure, led by John Hayes. Hayes and his team run the helpdesk five days a week, from 7am to 6pm, and operate on call seven days a week, 365 days a year. They deal with all the mainstream IT systems in the hospital, ranging from the main patient administration through the finance, HR, personnel and tax systems.

Server administration is an important part of support, and making sure they’re backed up on time is crucial. There are two computer rooms onsite. Several years ago, the Department went down the virtualisation route and built a second computer room as a recovery. Each works as a backup to the other, with virtual servers across the two rooms. If one server or room fails, the team can switch over to the other side.

One of the Clinic’s strategic acts is to work towards electronic patient records.

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/clu

blackrock_clinic_magazine.indd 43 02/12/2010 11:48:39

Technology and Expertise 9

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Blackrock Clinic is trying to make itself the hospital of choice for patients, consultants and GPs. This involves making it easy to do business with us, simplifying the delivery of what patients and staff need and want – and to the highest standard. Whether patients or GPs are booking an appointment, getting access to results or dealing with the most advanced medical testing, it all comes back to quality of care, and Blackrock Clinic's levels of technology, investment and dedication are sky-high.

Another is telemedicine, a successful attempt to make our services easier to use by patients or staff getting their information when and where they need it. Making images available throughout the hospital is hugely important. The Clinic also has online internet access for all patient test results for GPs and consultants, and was the first hospital in the country to provide online access to all of the images. If a patient comes to Blackrock Clinic for a scan, x-ray or PET/CT, the GP or consultant can not only see the report, but also the images online.

In general, two applications are used – firstly, all test results (radiology, cardiology, nuclear medicine and laboratory) are delivered through our web site, MediLINK.ie. This then connects into a DICOM Image Viewer Centricity Web, which is used to display and review images both internally within the hospital and externally via MediLINK.ie. MediLINK.ie is a Blackrock Clinic application, and Centricity Web is supplied by GE, inter facing into our RIS/CIS/PACS backend.

The whole system has been very well received, and used by consultants and GPs all over the country. For example, when staff show others how the system works, a reaction of ‘why can’t I have that for my patients as well?’ is familiar.

The system is very easy to use, and will become the norm in years to come.

There may still be some way to go, but staff find that almost everything they do has electronic patient records in mind. Having opened a new Emergency Department, it is a good time to begin to keep all of those records electronic. They’re still paper-based, in that they must be transferred to digital when the patient is discharged, but it will become even more digital in years to come.

As in other workplaces, the paperless office is not an overnight process, and may never quite be complete: given that the consultants are self-employed, it is left to them to decide whether to adopt the technology on offer and find ways of working that suit themselves. Increasingly, however, consultants are looking for material electronically rather than on paper – especially younger ones.

In future years, more barcoding and increased coverage by wireless networks will take hold: much of the team’s work is geared towards ensuring that when that time does come, they will be prepared. The process of integrating IT systems in better and more efficient ways continues.

©istockphoto.com

/aldra


10 Technology and Expertise

In a profession marked by danger and occasional tragedy, few dates stick out in the history of Irish

firefighting like October 5th 1936. On that fateful Monday night on Pearse Street in Dublin, three of the Dublin Fire Brigade’s finest lost their lives when what might have been a routine blaze, delivered a cruel surprise. Robert Malone, Thomas Nugent and Peter McArdle have been commemorated in memory and monument ever since – but what happened that night, and what were the consequences?

The location could hardly have been closer to home. 163/164 Pearse Street was within striking distance of Dublin Fire Brigade’s Tara Street headquarters. A barber’s shop and hotel occupied Number 163, with a ground floor Exide Batteries shop in 164, along with vacant first floor offices and a family of seven occupying the top floor. In the basement was a factory: there, batteries were made and stored.

Tom Geraghty and Trevor Whitehead, in their essential history, The Dublin Fire Brigade, paint a picture of a

IN 1936, THREE FIREFIGHTERS WERE KILLED IN A BLAZE AT THE EXIDE BATTERIES SHOP ON PEARSE STREET IN DUBLIN. RURAIDH CONLON O’REILLY LOOKS AT THE NIGHT’S EVENTS AND THE AFTERMATH OF THE WORST TRAGEDY SUFFERED BY DUBLIN FIRE BRIGADE IN ITS EVENTFUL HISTORY.

The firefighters’ funeral procession passes Tara Street Station.

Firecall_14.2_43-88.indd 43 18/07/2012 11:18:12

The Ultimate Sacrifice 11The Ultimate Sacrifice 11

death-trap: five gas cylinders – two coal-gas and three oxygen – lay among the assorted clutter of boxes littering the factory floor: “housekeeping generally in the factory was poor,” they write. Not only that, but the premises had been modified with a timber and felt annex replacing the basement back wall.

This set the scene for 10.50pm, when Thomas Kelly of the family occupying the top floor spotted a fire below. “I grabbed some clothes, and, without waiting to see where the smoke came from, I called out to my wife and children: ‘Get out quickly,’” he later said in one of many harrowing accounts to newspapers and the following year’s tribunal of inquiry. On his way down he met people who had broken down the door to help him.

Four minutes later, Dublin Fire Brigade were on the scene with 12 men, motor pump, turntable ladder and turncock. Despite the turnout, the most important ingredient of their response was missing: water. With the local hydrants providing but a trickle, officers searched elsewhere for a reliable supply. According to one onlooker, the pressure “was not enough to put out a bonfire”.

Time ran out a few minutes later when a loud explosion occurred at 10.58pm, sealing the fates of Malone, Nugent and McArdle. They had entered the building believing that the Kellys had been trapped on the top floor as it had been rumoured. There soon came a second explosion and, in the confusion and drama, it was over an hour before their absence was noticed and reported. At this time, Malone’s wife had by chance arrived on the scene: passing through and noticing the fire and firefighters, she realised that her husband would be involved and she stopped. “Some seconds later there was a terrific explosion, and I knew I would never see him again,” she said.

Firefighter John O’Connor was inside at the time. “The explosion displaced the stairs and banisters, and I was thrown from the second landing to the hallway. I was stupefied, but shouted to the men to get out.” Fireman Thomas Potts was fortunate to make his way to the roof, from where his colleagues rescued him with the fire escape. Firefighter outside were blown onto the road by the blast.

The explosion sent the blaze entirely out of control, and the scene on Pearse Street must have been a sad one

Trinity’s sports centre, Science Gallery and gate at Pearse Street, the site where the firefighters fell.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////“Some seconds later there was a terrific explosion, and I knew I would never see him again”/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Firecall_14.2_43-88.indd 44 18/07/2012 11:18:17

as onlookers watched firemen struggle to get any water into their hoses; indeed the fallen firefighters’ hoses had never worked. “The streams of water from the nozzles of the hoses, instead of being dead-straight, were hoop-shaped,” a witness said. “Obviously there was no water pressure worth talking about... the word inadequate has been used, but the pressure was much worse than that. There was a lamentable shortage of water.”

It was said that the fire had burned itself out at 2.30am, and the search for casualties continued well into the morning with tons of debris to be dug through. The Irish Times reported that the firefighters’ brass badges were virtually the only means of identification.

A CITY IN MOURNINGThe outpouring of emotion in the following days was universal: messages of sympathy poured in from all sections of society at home and abroad. Amidst public sadness and anger, the three coffins were laid in state at City Hall and civic funerals took place on October 10th.

They brought the city to a standstill. Flags flew at half mast and the streets were thronged with an estimated

50,000 people. Éamon de Valera, Lord Mayor, Alfie Byrne, and a vast cortége of mourners solemnly wound their way from Westland Row to Glasnevin Cemetery after a poignant pause and salute outside Tara Street station was observed. Representatives from English fire services had travelled to pay their respects. Immaculate dress uniforms, guards of honour and solemn protocol were the order of the day, judging by the extraordinary Pathé newsreel footage available online. The three coffins were carried through the city on fire tenders.

Malone had been active in the Easter Rising and War of Independence; he had served under de Valera in D Company at Boland’s Mills. His coffin was draped with the tricolour – 38 years old, he left behind him a wife and child. McArdle was mourned by a wife and seven children, while Nugent had been engaged to be married.

A WATERSHED MOMENTThe Pearse Street fire represented a watershed for firefighting in Ireland, and The Irish Times’ editorial summed up the prevailing mood: “the firemen risk their lives whatever happens but they must not be asked

Left: Fighting the Pearse Street fire, with

Leslie Crowe second on the ladder.

Above: A plaque now stands at 163/164

Pearse Street, scene of the tragedy.

///////////////////////////////Four minutes later, the Dublin Fire Brigade were on the scene with 12 men, motor pump, turntable ladder and turncock///////////////////////////////

Firecall_14.2_43-88.indd 46 18/07/2012 11:18:26

12 The Ultimate Sacrifice

death-trap: five gas cylinders – two coal-gas and three oxygen – lay among the assorted clutter of boxes littering the factory floor: “housekeeping generally in the factory was poor,” they write. Not only that, but the premises had been modified with a timber and felt annex replacing the basement back wall.

This set the scene for 10.50pm, when Thomas Kelly of the family occupying the top floor spotted a fire below. “I grabbed some clothes, and, without waiting to see where the smoke came from, I called out to my wife and children: ‘Get out quickly,’” he later said in one of many harrowing accounts to newspapers and the following year’s tribunal of inquiry. On his way down he met people who had broken down the door to help him.

Four minutes later, Dublin Fire Brigade were on the scene with 12 men, motor pump, turntable ladder and turncock. Despite the turnout, the most important ingredient of their response was missing: water. With the local hydrants providing but a trickle, officers searched elsewhere for a reliable supply. According to one onlooker, the pressure “was not enough to put out a bonfire”.

Time ran out a few minutes later when a loud explosion occurred at 10.58pm, sealing the fates of Malone, Nugent and McArdle. They had entered the building believing that the Kellys had been trapped on the top floor as it had been rumoured. There soon came a second explosion and, in the confusion and drama, it was over an hour before their absence was noticed and reported. At this time, Malone’s wife had by chance arrived on the scene: passing through and noticing the fire and firefighters, she realised that her husband would be involved and she stopped. “Some seconds later there was a terrific explosion, and I knew I would never see him again,” she said.

Firefighter John O’Connor was inside at the time. “The explosion displaced the stairs and banisters, and I was thrown from the second landing to the hallway. I was stupefied, but shouted to the men to get out.” Fireman Thomas Potts was fortunate to make his way to the roof, from where his colleagues rescued him with the fire escape. Firefighter outside were blown onto the road by the blast.

The explosion sent the blaze entirely out of control, and the scene on Pearse Street must have been a sad one

Trinity’s sports centre, Science Gallery and gate at Pearse Street, the site where the firefighters fell.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////“Some seconds later there was a terrific explosion, and I knew I would never see him again”/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Firecall_14.2_43-88.indd 44 18/07/2012 11:18:17

as onlookers watched firemen struggle to get any water into their hoses; indeed the fallen firefighters’ hoses had never worked. “The streams of water from the nozzles of the hoses, instead of being dead-straight, were hoop-shaped,” a witness said. “Obviously there was no water pressure worth talking about... the word inadequate has been used, but the pressure was much worse than that. There was a lamentable shortage of water.”

It was said that the fire had burned itself out at 2.30am, and the search for casualties continued well into the morning with tons of debris to be dug through. The Irish Times reported that the firefighters’ brass badges were virtually the only means of identification.

A CITY IN MOURNINGThe outpouring of emotion in the following days was universal: messages of sympathy poured in from all sections of society at home and abroad. Amidst public sadness and anger, the three coffins were laid in state at City Hall and civic funerals took place on October 10th.

They brought the city to a standstill. Flags flew at half mast and the streets were thronged with an estimated

50,000 people. Éamon de Valera, Lord Mayor, Alfie Byrne, and a vast cortége of mourners solemnly wound their way from Westland Row to Glasnevin Cemetery after a poignant pause and salute outside Tara Street station was observed. Representatives from English fire services had travelled to pay their respects. Immaculate dress uniforms, guards of honour and solemn protocol were the order of the day, judging by the extraordinary Pathé newsreel footage available online. The three coffins were carried through the city on fire tenders.

Malone had been active in the Easter Rising and War of Independence; he had served under de Valera in D Company at Boland’s Mills. His coffin was draped with the tricolour – 38 years old, he left behind him a wife and child. McArdle was mourned by a wife and seven children, while Nugent had been engaged to be married.

A WATERSHED MOMENTThe Pearse Street fire represented a watershed for firefighting in Ireland, and The Irish Times’ editorial summed up the prevailing mood: “the firemen risk their lives whatever happens but they must not be asked

Left: Fighting the Pearse Street fire, with

Leslie Crowe second on the ladder.

Above: A plaque now stands at 163/164

Pearse Street, scene of the tragedy.

///////////////////////////////Four minutes later, the Dublin Fire Brigade were on the scene with 12 men, motor pump, turntable ladder and turncock///////////////////////////////

Firecall_14.2_43-88.indd 46 18/07/2012 11:18:26

The Ultimate Sacrifice 13

to risk them with empty hoses in their hands.” Over a month after the funerals, a tribunal was announced, sitting from January to March of the following year. It had much to say on the night’s events, and its recommendations reflected on planning regulations, Dublin Corporation – and particularly Dublin Fire Brigade.

A cigarette was deemed the most likely cause of the blaze – some things never change for Dublin’s firefighters – although numerous theories were put forward and no firm conclusions reached. Nor was the cause of the explosion defined, with much debate and expert testimony surrounding the role of the gas cylinders, batteries and the Dublin gas supply. A burst gaspipe had continued to burn inside the shattered building; no-one had shut off the mains. Although the report acknowledged the poor state of the premises, Exide Batteries was not found to be in breach of the law. This was an era when making batteries and handling chemicals in the same building as a family residence was nothing out of the ordinary, and regulation was now urged.

The explosion and not the blaze had done for the three firemen, but what had caused the dismal water supply? Water was already a hot topic in Dublin, with the process of slum clearance and regeneration stalled due to unreliable supplies. The Poulaphouca Reservoir project at Blessington in County Wicklow, today still a major element of Dublin’s water supply, was yet to be built. In a recent development, pressure in Dublin was severely curtailed after 9pm each night to conserve supplies. In the case of a fire, turncocks manning the valves would be notified and full pressure restored.

Here, a serious conflict emerged between the Fire Brigade and the waterworks department: had the Brigade notified the turncocks correctly, or had the turncocks failed to open a crucial valve? One firefighter alleged a conspiracy; a stitch-up between the turncocks. The turncocks said they didn’t get the call. “But that someone had blundered there would have been an adequate supply,” was the line taken by the Corporation’s counsel, and the truth remains shrouded.

Dublin Fire Brigade itself came in for examination. Captain Joseph Connolly had endured intense questioning: water pressure gauges were not checked when leaving the station, and he was asked if this procedure was not akin to turning up to fight a battle without any ammunition. With such a large turnout by the Brigade, few or no units had been left available to cover elsewhere. Thomas Potts, a recent recruit so fortunate to escape the explosion, had fought the fire with a cloth cap for protection because new helmets were on order.

A picture emerged of a fire brigade and waterworks department completely disconnected from each other. A number of times, Connolly referred to being able to provide a better service if he had better resources.

A DAMNING VERDICTIn the end, the tribunal found that “There was a lack of proper supervision, direction and control on the part of the two senior officers of the fire brigade over their own men.” There had been a grave lack of efficiency by the Fire Brigade and the waterworks department, although as individuals the firefighter had acted bravely.

“That the Dublin Fire Brigade administration should be reorganised; that the condition of the Brigade, as disclosed by the Pearse Street and other recent fires, calls for immediate attention; that there is a complete absence of staff organisation at the headquarters of the Brigade; that a competent and efficient staff organisation should be provided; and that a more regular system of drills, with the officers co-operating and taking charge, would help to improve the condition of the brigade,” the report damned.

To an Irish Times editorial, the episode had revealed beyond all possibility of doubt that something was seriously wrong with the city’s machinery of firefighting: “The tribunal deserves congratulation on its refusal to mince words about a civic scandal of the first magnitude.”

A year later and Connolly had retired, judged an honourable and honest man out of his depth and with little support, as Tom Geraghty and Trevor Whitehead write. His replacement, given the new title of Chief Superintendent, was ex-army Major, J.J Comerford. He threw himself into reform, visiting British fire services and restructuring the DFB. Married firemen and their families moved out of their residences in the fire stations. New equipment was brought in, new recruits arrived, new discipline instilled and a raft of reforms and investments planned.

It was just as well: around the corner lay World War II and the Emergency, a key chapter in the history of DFB.

Today, the fallen firefighters are commemorated with a plaque at the site of 163/164 Pearse Street, where Trinity College Dublin’s sports centre, Science Gallery and entrance gate have been built. They are buried alongside each other at Glasnevin Cemetery, and another monument stands at the O’Brien Institute, DFB’s training centre in Marino. Generations on, they are the most recent Dublin firefighters to directly lose their lives in the line of duty.

Their sad irony was summed up by Captain Connolly: “The firemen have sometimes been blamed for taking a long time to get to a fire,” he said after the disaster. “If they had been slower on this occasion, three lives would have been saved.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////The Irish Times reported that the firemen’s brass badges were virtually the only means of identification./////////////////////////////////////////////////

//////////////////////////////////////////////////The streets were thronged with an estimated 50,000 people/////////////////////////////////////////////////

Firecall_14.2_43-88.indd 47 18/07/2012 11:18:27

14 The Ultimate Sacrifice

46

COMMERCIAL PROFILE THE IRISH TIMES

Becoming president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce is not an overnight process.

In November, it was announced that Liam Kavanagh, Managing Director of �e Irish Times, has been nominated deputy vice president. He will become vice president next year, stepping up to the presidency in 2014.

“I’m looking forward to it – it’s a fantastic honour,” he says. “I’m very much a Dublin person, my family background is mostly Dublin and I’ve always lived and worked in Dublin. I feel I’m very much of the city.”

Originally from Drumcondra, Kavanagh studied business at the College of Commerce in Rathmines, joined KPMG and moved to the Smur�t Group – where his association with the Chamber began, later joining the Chamber Council in 2007. He arrived at �e Irish Times in 2000 and became managing director in 2010.

uPRESIDENT’S PRIORITIES What will Kavanagh’s priorities be? “�e role of the president as I see it is to represent the members, to chair the Council of the Chamber and provide direction and oversight to the management team,” he says. Beyond that, there are themes and concrete goals to be achieved, and a clear strategy agreed by the Chamber at the end of last year to be started immediately.

As the MD of the newspaper of record becoming involved in an in�uential business group, did he ever worry about a perceived con�ict of interest in taking on the presidency? “I did think about this before I put myself forward, and I did speak to my chairman and to Kevin O’Sullivan, the editor, about the role and if we were all happy that it was something �e Irish Times would be happy for me to do. I don’t think there’s any con�ict.

“�e Irish Times’s editorial policy is very much independent of me, and independent of my views on certain things. I don’t in�uence it, don’t want to, and I don’t have the expertise for it! I think Kevin knows that as well as me.”

2014 will be an interesting year to be president: Kavanagh highlights the maturity of some of the Government debt at that point, and predicts that the business and economic climate will still be very tough. “You would hope that there will be a bit more con�dence around the place,” he says, “and hopeful at least that we would be on a way out of our di�culties.”

It will be interesting, too, because of the decade of commemorations beginning this year and ramping up from 2013 onwards: historical

milestones a century on. “All these things should be positive for us, in terms of increasing tourism and Ireland’s pro�le, and presenting us in a more modern and better light,” he says.

uTARA STREET STRATEGYMeanwhile, back at �e Irish Times, things went reasonably well last year although he sensed a slowdown in the �nal quarter. Part of his role is to navigate the di�culties facing the media in general – it’s not just a problem with newspapers, he says. It’s more one of economics, and changing patterns of consumption.

“We have a fairly clear strategy now set out around developing and focusing on content and improving and expanding the range that we generate, both in print and online.

“Alongside that, there’s a range of organisational change initiatives that feed into the content changes and also into the need to get the overall cost base of �e Irish Times down. We’re pleased that we’re very much on track with that strategy.” It’s to be done over a three-year period and at the end of 2010 they were ahead of their target, he says.

Kavanagh feels he has to begin work now in order to prepare for his presidency in 2014. Coinciding with a time of challenge and change for Dublin, Ireland, the Chamber and �e Irish Times, it’s little wonder he wants to get a head start. g

Times a-changingLiam Kavanagh, Managing Director of The Irish Times, will become Dublin Chamber of Commerce president in 2014. He speaks to Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly about his priorities and about business at the paper of record.

Liam Kavanagh, Managing Director, �e Irish Times.

The role of the president is to represent

the members, to chair the Council of

the Chamber and provide direction and

oversight to the management team”

Times A-Changing 15

16 A Lifetime in Medicine

The death of pioneering heart surgeon Maurice Neligan, a co-founder of the Blackrock Clinic, was

an occasion of great sadness for all those who knew him. Maurice, at the age of 73, died on October 8th 2010, drawing heartfelt tribute from colleagues and those in public life.

From 1971 until retirement, Maurice was Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at the Mater Hospital, also serving at Crumlin Children’s Hospital from 1974 to 2002. He was among the four co-founders of the Blackrock Clinic in 1984. Among his achievements were the country’s first coronary artery bypass graft (1975) and first heart transplant (1985).

The reaction to his passing was warm: in The Irish Times, Dr. Muiris Houston described the Irish people’s “foremost patient advocate,” a “medical maverick” whose passion and talent for medical care was accompanied by a love of learning and a sizable personality. The Sunday Independent wrote that he was “Ireland’s best known medic,” having carried out up to 15,000 open-heart operations.

At Blackrock Clinic, the tricolour flew at half-mast in tribute. Here, he will always be remembered for his stories, humour and immense talent as a surgeon. His reputation added great weight to the Clinic, particularly in the early days, and was a considerable part in its success. He loved his patients, and put them at ease because he had a common touch with patients and staff. The manner in which he communicated with people was special. Staff who encountered him in theatre remember him as a great teacher: encouraging, and never intimidating.

Maurice saw his patients every day and if he was on call, staff felt secure because of his competence and calmness. He had a unique manner of inspiring confidence in those working with him, and fought their corner as he did for patients.

Part of his manner was also to inspire confidence in those he cared for: on the day before an operation, he might joke that he wouldn’t have too many pints that night, or that it was the first time he’d ever performed surgery – but could do it with

©istockphoto.com

/ideabug


A Lifetime in Medicine 17

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LongerÊtimeÊtoÊtreatmentÊdiscontinuationÊcomparedÊtoÊquetiapine3

ZyprexaÊisÊassociatedÊwithÊlowÊratesÊofÊrehospitalisation4

ZYPREXA* TABLETS (OLANZAPINE) REPUBLIC OF IRELAND ABBREVIATED PRESCRIBING INFORMATION ZYPREXA VELOTABS ZYPREXA INTRAMUSCULAR INJECTION. Presentations Tablets 2.5mg, 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 15mg, or 20mg of olanzapine. Also contain lactose. Velotab* 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, or 20mg orodispersible tablets. Also contain gelatin, aspartame, mannitol, and parahydroxybenzoates. Powder for solution for injection, containing 10mg olanzapine. Uses Tablets and Velotabs: Schizophrenia, both as initial therapy and for maintenance. Moderate to severe manic episode; prevention of recurrence in bipolar disorder in patients whose manic episode has responded to olanzapine treatment. Injection: Rapid control of agitation and disturbed behaviours in patients with schizophrenia or manic episode, when oral therapy is not appropriate. Dosage and Administration Tablets and Velotabs: Schizophrenia: 10mg/day orally. Manic episode: 15mg/day in monotherapy; 10mg/day in combination therapy. Preventing recurrence in bipolar disorder: 10mg/day, or for patients who have been receiving olanzapine for treatment of manic episode, continue therapy for preventing recurrence at the same dose. May subsequently be adjusted to 5-20mg daily. Injection: Intramuscular use only for a maximum of three consecutive days. Initial dose 10mg. A second injection, 5-10mg, may be administered 2 hours after. Maximum daily dose is 20mg, with not more than 3 injections in any 24-hour period. Treatment with Zyprexa Intramuscular Injection should be discontinued, and oral Zyprexa initiated, as soon as clinically appropriate. Do not administer intravenously or subcutaneously. Children: Not recommended (under 18 years). Elderly patients: Oral therapy - a lower starting dose (5mg/day) is not routinely indicated but should be considered when clinical factors warrant. Injection - recommended starting dose is 2.5-5mg. Renal and/or hepatic impairment: 5mg starting dose in moderate hepatic insufficiency. When more than one factor which might cause slower metabolism, consider a decreased starting dose. Gradual dose reduction should be considered when discontinuing olanzapine. Contra-indications Known hypersensitivity to any ingredient. Known risk of narrow-angle glaucoma. Warnings and Special Precautions Olanzapine is not approved for the treatment of dementia-related psychosis and/or behavioural disturbances because of an increase in mortality and the risk of CVAE. Olanzapine is not indicated for use in the treatment of children and adolescents. Injection: Efficacy not established in patients with agitation and disturbed behaviours related to conditions other than schizophrenia or manic episode. Should not be administered to patients with unstable medical conditions (see Summary of Product Characteristics [SPC]). Safety and efficacy have not been evaluated in patients with alcohol or drug intoxication. Patients should be closely observed for hypotension, including postural hypotension, bradyarrhythmia, and/or hypoventilation (see SPC). Simultaneous injection with parenteral benzodiazepine is not

low leucocyte and/or neutrophil counts, bone marrow depression, in patients receiving medicines known to cause neutropenia,

antipsychotics, caution should be exercised when olanzapine is prescribed with medicines known to increase QTc interval. As with other atypical antipsychotics, sudden cardiac death has been reported in patients taking olanzapine. Discontinue if signs and symptoms indicative of NMS, or unexplained high fever. If tardive dyskinesia appears, consider dose reduction or discontinuation. Appropriate clinical monitoring for hyperglycaemia is advisable in accordance with utilised antipsychotic guidelines. Patients treated with any antipsychotic agents, including Zyprexa, should be observed for signs and symptoms of hyperglycaemia (such as polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, and weakness) and patients with diabetes mellitus or with risk factors for diabetes mellitus should be monitored regularly for worsening of glucose control. Weight should be monitored regularly. Blood pressure should be measured periodically in patients over 65 years. Patients treated with any antipsychotic agents, including Zyprexa, should be monitored regularly for lipids in accordance with utilised antipsychotic guidelines. May antagonise effects of dopamine agonists. Phenylalanine: Velotabs contain aspartame - a source of phenylalanine. Sodium methyl parahydroxybenzoate and sodium propyl parahydroxybenzoate: Contained in Velotabs; known to cause urticaria, contact dermatitis, and, rarely, immediate reactions with bronchospasm. Interactions Metabolism may be affected by substances that can specifically induce (eg, concomitant smoking or carbamazepine) or inhibit (eg, fluvoxamine) the isoenzyme P450-CYP1A2

which metabolises olanzapine. Activated charcoal reduces the bioavailability of oral olanzapine. Olanzapine may antagonise the effects of direct and indirect dopamine agonists. Olanzapine showed no interaction when co-administered with lithium or biperiden. Zyprexa Intramuscular Injection 5mg, administered 1 hour before lorazepam 2mg, added to the somnolence observed with either drug alone. Pregnancy and Lactation Should be used in pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the foetus. Patients should be advised not to breast-feed an infant if they are taking Zyprexa. Driving, etc May cause somnolence or dizziness. Patients should be cautioned about operating hazardous machinery, including motor vehicles. Undesirable Effects Those observed from spontaneous reporting and in clinical trials at a rate of 1%, or where the event is clinically relevant, are: Clinical Trial Adverse Event Reporting and Investigations, and Post-Marketing Spontaneous Reporting with Oral Zyprexa. Very common (>10%): Weight gain1, somnolence1, elevated plasma prolactin levels. Common (1-10%): Eosinophilia, increased appetite1, elevated glucose levels, elevated triglyceride levels1, elevated cholesterol levels1, glycosuria, dizziness, akathisia, parkinsonism, dyskinesia, orthostatic hypotension, mild transient anticholinergic effects, including constipation and dry mouth1 1, asthenia, fatigue, oedema, rash. Uncommon (0.1-1%): Bradycardia, QTc prolongation, leucopenia, neutropenia, photosensitivity reaction, alopecia, urinary incontinence, high creatinine phosphokinase, increased total bilirubin. Not known: Thrombocytopenia, allergic reaction, development or exacerbation of diabetes occasionally associated with ketoacidosis or coma, including some fatal cases, hypothermia, seizures where in most cases a history of seizures or risk factors for seizures were reported, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, dystonia, tardive dyskinesia, discontinuation symptoms, ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation, sudden death, thromboembolism, pancreatitis, hepatitis, rhabdomyolysis, urinary hesitation, priapism, increased alkaline phosphatase. In clinical trials of elderly patients with dementia, olanzapine was associated with a higher incidence of death and cerebrovascular adverse events compared to placebo. Very common (>10%) undesirable effects in this patient group were abnormal gait and falls. Pneumonia, increased body temperature, lethargy, erythema, visual hallucinations, and urinary incontinence were observed commonly (1-10%). 1Adverse events in adolescents (13-17 years) with different frequency to adults. Additional Clinical Trial Adverse Event Reporting and Investigations with Zyprexa Intramuscular Injection. Common (1-10%): Bradycardia, with or without hypotension or syncope, tachycardia. Injection site discomfort, somnolence, postural hypotension, hypotension. Uncommon (0.1-1%): Sinus pause, hypotension. Post-Marketing Spontaneous Events with Zyprexa Intramuscular Injection. Temporal association in cases of respiratory depression, hypotension, or bradycardia, and death reported very rarely, mostly with concomitant use of benzodiazepines and/or other antipsychotic drugs, or use of olanzapine in excess of recommended dose. For full details of these and other side-effects, please see the Summary of Product Characteristics, which is available at http://www.medicines.ie/. Legal Category POM Marketing Authorisation Numbers and Holder EU/1/96/022/002, EU/1/96/022/004, EU/1/96/022/006, EU/1/96/022/009, EU/1/96/022/010, EU/1/96/022/012, EU/1/96/022/014, EU/1/96/022/016,

The Netherlands. Date of Preparation or Last Review December 2009 Full Prescribing Information is Available From

References: 1. IMS Data, March 2010. 2. Kinon BJ et al. Effective resolution with olanzapine of acute presentation of behavioral agitation and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. J Clin Psych 2001;62(Suppl 2):17-21. 3. Kahn et al. Effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in first-episode schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder: an open randomised clinical trial. Lancet 2008;371:1085-1097. 4. Tiihonen J et al. Effectiveness of antipsychotic treatments in a nationwide cohort of patients in community care after first hospitalisation due to schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: observational follow-up study BMJ, 2006;333(7561):224-229

IEZYP00232 Date of preparation: May 2010. Zyprexa is manufactured in Cork.

listener to write to the Times, hoping that he would run for president.

In retirement, golf, reading, the column and the holiday home in Glenbeigh, Co. Kerr y occupied his time. His funeral, on October 12th, was widely attended and heard fond stories of medicine and rugby. Son Maurice recalled his own path into surgery, inspired by his parents – Pat is also a doctor – and said that his father had been an impor tant par t of delivering “a world-class cardiac surgical service in this countr y for adults and children.”

His voice will be sorely missed along the corridors of the Blackrock Clinic.

his eyes closed. Immediately, his patients would laugh and give him their trust.

On one occasion, a former colleague remembers, a patient had Mass cards at the end of their bed. Maurice waved at them, scoffed, and told the patient to “put them away, you don’t need them yet!” No matter when you met him, Maurice would have a new story or joke to relax the patient and make them feel at ease.

Maurice’s main motivation, in the mid-1980s, was that the development of private medicine would get people who would otherwise die off waiting lists, into surgery, and force the public service into providing more serious cardiac care. At that time, there was no cardiac surgery on the south side of the city, leaving huge backlogs at the Mater.

Maurice’s passing also attracted eulogies from the world of politics. Taoiseach Brian Cowen acknowledged the affect he had on so many Irish families, adding that he knew him personally while Minister for Health. “I spoke at length to Maurice only last week,” recalled Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. “He was the first superstar of Irish medicine following his achievements as a leading cardiac surgeon. There are many who enjoy a normal lifestyle today because of his work. Ireland will be the poorer for his passing.”

Born in Booterstown in 1937, Maurice attended Blackrock College, a continuing source of pride throughout his life – later on, at the Clinic, he insisted that his suite looked out over his alma mater and its playing fields, allowing the proud Dad to slip out and watch his children play the odd match. At UCD, he graduated in medicine in 1962, before training as a surgeon. As his career developed, he married Pat and raised a family of seven: Maurice, John, Kate, David, Lisa, Lucy and Sara, who was tragically killed in 2007.

Maurice was a colour ful and passionate commentator on Irish healthcare, with an Irish Times health column that often overlapped into the political and the literar y. His criticisms of Minister for Health Mary Harney and Professor Brendan Drumm were widely read and repor ted. One recent intervention was his opposition to the Children’s Hospital at the Mater, and a constant narrative was the failure to deliver a successful public health service at a time of great plenty.

For this, for the level of care he gave patients, and for many other reasons besides, he was popular with the public: a radio appearance prompted one

©istockphoto.com

/ddoorly


Fusiliers Arch, Stephen’s Green, 1980.

18 A History of Dublin Subcultures

Fusiliers Arch, Stephen’s Green, 1980.

From 1957 onwards, Garda James ‘Lugs’ Branigan saw the epochal

Rock Around The Clock over 90 times. Lugs was

gougers the option of prosecution or a

up cinemas was the thing to do.

and quiffed hair – think A Clockwork Orange meets Barry Lyndon

part thanks to returned emigrants: to one

taste for queer clothes.”

the safe side.

seen its fair share of cultural movements

to fascinate sociologists and cultural

Where Were You?,

proved itself an ideal festive gift and its

punks, teds, skinheads, ravers, goths,

fact, our own capital.

imported trend after trend from England and America. One common thread

A History ofDUBLIN SUBCULTRES

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Dublin saw its fair share of cultural movements, as Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly discovered.

17Issue 10 - Summer ’12

A History of Dublin Subcultures 19

kind.

canvas had met its opposite, and phlegm

evolved through the decade, like the

Quadrophenia

Pirate radio stations were up and running, and home taping made the faint

things never change). For those with cash, independent record stores could track

posters on the walls and all... these things

had several high points, and forced the

as its high steps and smooth handrails

18 OneMoreRobot

Stoneybatter, 1960.


parks.

conditions of health, were a feature of

late nineties.

something.”

house, techno et al, caught the imagination

illicit drugs.

was noticed at all, moral panic was the

themselves.

storm moved on and the mainstream found its usual means of packaging

on online forum Boards.ie commemorate

alcohol licence, gang feuds, and the sense

so much that sociologists talk of moving

its alternative culture rather than create

with it.”

indigenous tradition to divert the attention.

“The sixties seems to have been a good time to be in Dublin. The miniskirt was here with the rest of the sixties’ fashions.”


Clare Manor Hotel, Malahide Road, 1968.


O’Connell Street circa 1968.


O’Connell Street circa 1968.

referring to one of numerous attempts to

compete on an even footing with overseas

was the alternative.

comprehensive Green Beat: the Forgotten Era of Irish Rock, reveals a world in which

considered themselves the alternative: it was ‘us against them.’”

Gallagher, in the wars again, once sat a friend in front of an organ on stage just to

‘here’s something coming along that we

initial moments onwards a template of

America – and so it remains.

Photography courtesy of Garry O’Neill, author of Where Were You? Dublin Youth Culture & Street Style 1950-2000.

“A lot of the beat clubs in Dublin were literally underground, in Georgian basements. This led to a feeling that the bands were out of sight and out of mind.”


The Bridewell Police Station, 1985.


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Dublin Chamber of Commerce Yearbook and Directory 2011.indd 1 3/25/2011 2:22:27 PMInbusiness cover Q1.indd 1 28/04/2011 17:27:46

24 Transatlantic Connections

InBusiness | QI 201152

+ + + + + + + + + + + +

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Transatlantic

THERE’S SOMETHING SPECIAL about a

US presidential visit. Ask Ryan Tubridy, whose

book JFK in Ireland found its way into many a

Christmas stocking last time around. Kennedy’s

visit was back in 1963, and the nostalgia factor

is still high.

It wasn’t a one-off, though: in more recent

times, Bill Clinton’s feel-good peace process

intervention has become a highlight on repeats

of Reeling in the Years. Nixon, Reagan and

George W. Bush have been over too – the

latter in a lower key than usual, as Iraq and the

controversies of his presidency were developing.

Now it’s Barack Obama’s turn, and as

activity ratchets up from Dublin to Moneygall

and back, it’s a good time to focus on what

transatlantic ties mean for business, and what

effect the visit itself will have on Ireland’s

business community.

One piece of evidence emerged in January,

when Ireland was named the second most

globalised economy in the world – ahead of

Singapore, Denmark and Switzerland (Hong

Kong topped it). Barry O’Leary, Head of IDA

Ireland, praised the Ernst and Young report as

“an excellent recognition of Ireland’s strengths”

and evidence of “our reputation as a country

that embraces open innovation.”

And so it is no surprise to fi nd those who work

the transatlantic link stressing its importance

ahead of Obama’s visit. One such fi gure is

Joanne Richardson, Chief Executive of the

American Chamber of Commerce Ireland.

Her organisation, often known as Amcham,

represents US investment in Ireland.

“Ireland has always enjoyed the most

special of relationships with the United States

and nowhere is this more evident than in the

business ties between our two countries,”

she says. “Today, nearly 100,000 people in

Ireland are directly employed in over 600 US

companies here. These companies have an

investment totalling $165 billion in Irish based

operations – this is more than in Brazil, Russia,

India and China, combined.”

“In 2010, US companies paid an estimated

3 billion to the Irish Exchequer and

contributed a further 15bn to the Irish

economy in terms of payrolls, goods and

services expenditure in their operations.”

But even in troubled 2010, 126 new

investments arrived on these shores, particularly

in the IT, life sciences and international services

sectors. The rollcall is one of household names:

IBM, HP, Google, Intel, Allergan, MSD,

Accenture and Citi all feature. Then there

were new companies setting up international

headquarters here: LinkedIn, Otterbox, Bioware,

D&B and Warner Chillcott. For more proof in

the pudding, Richardson says to look no further

than IBM’s Location Trends Report: Ireland is

US President, Barack Obama.

Offi cial W

hite House Photo by Pete Souza, courtesy of w

hitehouse.gov.

InbusinessQ1Spring1-64.indd 52 28/04/2011 16:46:51

Transatlantic Connections 25

Q1 2011 | InBusiness 53

have served food for thought by suggesting

that the old FDI pattern is outdated, and a

new and more indigenous model of high-tech

growth is worth reaching for.

Many of these issues are undercut by the

position in which Ireland now finds itself. There

is a need for investment from practically any

available avenue, and the prospect of a boost to

confidence and reputation will be regarded as

an open goal.

The export figures are noteworthy too: with

domestic demand still low, commentators are

hopeful for an export-led recovery as Ireland

seeks to trade itself out of difficulty. Exports are

pretty much the only game in town at present.

There is a large trade surplus, with products

such as medical and pharmaceuticals strong

at 24.3bn in 2010. Exports to the US were

up 14 per cent to 20.7bn. Even the export

figure for Belgium – nearly 13bn – suggests

a US influence because that’s where the

port of Antwerp lies, and it’s a key location

in transatlantic trade. In short, the US alone

represents 23 per cent of exports, and possibly

markets,” Murphy says. To him, corporation

tax was the key factor in what overcoming

what he sees as the country’s “peripheral”

position in Europe.

For those conducting transatlantic business on

a day-to-day basis, Barack Obama’s visit will

have tangible benefits. There will always be

leaders and commentators, even within Irish

business, with misgivings about the nature of

American power globally – whether economic,

cultural or military. It’s also worth pointing out

that there is room for debate on the whole

question of FDI in Ireland itself. Industry figures

such as Craig Barrett, now retired from Intel,

the number one destination for FDI on a jobs

per capita basis.

Kieran McLoughlin is another interested

party with his finger on the pulse. He is

President and CEO of the Worldwide Ireland

Funds – including the American Ireland Fund, a

philanthropic body which has raised hundreds

of millions of dollars for Irish causes. Their latest

campaign is called Promising Ireland.

In hard economic terms, the United States

is the biggest single investor in Irish business

and McLoughlin is a familiar figure to Irish

business, not only through his current role,

but also through his previous work with the

Dublin Chamber during the last recession.

“In addition to that, there’s also a human

element: the exchange between Irish and

Americans is very intense,” he says. “You

have executives and entrepreneurs from

both countries travelling between the two on

a regular basis, so there’s a great interflow

of ideas, opportunities and connections. The

networks are very strong.”

And so it’s not just the high-flying

multinationals that stand to benefit from the

US-Irish relationship. Richardson is adamant

that SMEs fit in neatly too. “Indigenous

companies from across the country have

benefitted from being able to do business

with, and indeed learn from, global leaders,”

she argues. “Just last month we saw a perfect

example of this when the US medical

technology company ZAGG entered into

collaboration with a local Shannon-based

company. This deal has created 140 jobs

initially, with potential for another 160 over

the next five years.”

This is not a one-way street, she says: Irish

companies in the US employ 82,000 people

in 1,300 locations across all fifty states.

This tallies with the views of Shaun

Murphy, Head of Tax at KPMG, who

acknowledges the complexity of the links.

“Whilst US-Irish economic ties are hugely

important to the Irish economy, they are

also important to the US, as American firms

themselves export an estimated 93bn of

products and services from Ireland into world

Hail to the Chieftain: previous presidential visits

KENNEDY: The Catholic, Irish-American president returned to the oul’ sod in June 1963 in a

visit seen as a coming of age for independent Ireland. Kennedy visited Wexford, scene of his

great grandfather’s emigration, and received plaudits from honorary degrees to the freedom of

Dublin. It was the last country he visited before his assassination later that year.

NIXON: Always overshadowed by Kennedy in the glamour stakes, the 1970 Nixon visit is

often forgotten these days. But visit he did, staying at Kilfrush House in Co Limerick and calling

at his Quaker ancestors’ patch of Timahoe in Kildare. The contrast with the previous visit was

stark: in Dublin, an anti-Vietnam war protester egged his car.

REAGAN: The Ronald Reagan Lounge in Ballyporeen, Co Tipperary is now closed, and has

been shipped to America. But once upon a time, presidential Smithwicks was sipped there as

Hollywood came to town. Reagan addressed the Oireachtas and visited the ancestral home as

well as Dublin and Galway on the first leg of a European trip.

CLINTON: November 1995, and Clinton becomes the first president to visit Northern Ireland,

giving the peace process an almighty boot in the right direction. He also addressed huge

crowds in Dublin’s College Green and played golf with Dick Spring at Ballybunion. In 1998, he

visited Omagh, and made his third visit here in 2000. He’s been back several times since, as

has his wife Hillary, currently Secretary of State.

BUSH II: Guarded by the most intense security operation ever seen in the State, June 2004

saw George W. Bush arrive for an EU-US summit at Dromoland Castle in Co. Clare. That

security was needed: Iraq had made him a figure of deep unpopularity, RTE journalist Carole

Coleman’s interview with him caused controversy, and watercannon were used against

protesters in Dublin.


26 Transatlantic Connections


visit is hugely significant, given Ireland’s

context as EU/IMF bailout recipients. To

him, the visit is an endorsement of the

soundness of the State, its economy and its

business community.

In a wider context, indeed, Kieran

McLoughlin agrees on the benefits. “Sure the

spend of the advance teams alone will make

the hoteliers very happy,” he jokes. “The

television coverage alone could hardly have a

price put on it.”

And so there are a number of things to

play for. Indeed, there will be a very direct

economic knock-off effect felt, not only by

hoteliers, but the business community of

Moneygall will get a boost they could hardly

have expected and this business will be done

on a medium and long-term basis.

The visit will offer a unique opportunity

for business to be done: deals signed,

presentations made, areas of mutual

concern explored. The two governments

and their agencies, the Irish and American

quite a bit more.

In any case, debate is hardly on the lips of

those already established here. To them, US

investment and the presidential visit count as

unqualified good news. On that note, Wendy

Hamilton, Area VP (Europe) of Lionbridge

describes the prospect of the visit as, “incredibly

cheering. It also shows respect for the Irish

business community, for the Irish economy and

for the Irish people in general, and I think that’s

very important.”

Over at Citibank in Dublin’s IFSC, Head

of Global Transaction Services Brian Hayes

agrees. “It’s a huge statement of confidence

in the country: yet again, one of the most

powerful leaders in the world is coming

here,” and so soon after our St. Patrick’s

Day audience. Like others, Hayes sees

great opportunity in 'packaging' all the best

things about Ireland – whether business,

culture or society – in showcase form.

From the Irish side of the FDI equation,

things are optimistic too. Diarmuid O’Neill,

who plays a leading role in attracting

foreign investment with AIB, says that the

business communities, and other interested

organisations will be working in overdrive.

There’s another priority: to correct the

reputational damage done by the recession

and crisis. Here, the emphasis is on putting

the best foot forward. McLoughlin has the

inside track. To him, the damage is by no

means irreparable.

“First of all, Americans don’t do

recrimination. They’re not interested in what

caused the problem, they’re more interested

in what we’re going to do about it. The

degree to which we challenge our problems

is the key to restoring our reputation.

“Also, whereas there might have been

some reduction in our reputation, there

was absolutely no reduction in the level of

goodwill towards Ireland. It’s perhaps even

stronger than ever. There’s great opportunity.”

Richardson agrees that yes, damage

has been done, but it can be undone. “It

is important internationally that a positive

vision of Ireland is projected, one which

shows the very real benefits that continue to

exist in Ireland as a location to do business.

It also affords Ireland as a nation the

opportunity to showcase the best we have

to offer, with major benefits for tourism and

other related industries.”

Perhaps the visit effectively began on St.

Patrick’s Day, when the new Government and

Irish America went to work in a high-profile

feel-good operation that felt much fresher

than that of previous years. Speaking then,

Obama himself said that, “There is just an

incredible bond between our two countries,

and that’s one that we want to reaffirm here

today.” Not long after that, he will arrive to

reaffirm the economic bond in person.

Obama’s flying visit Takes place on 23 May;

Obama’s great great great

grandfather was Falmouth Kearney;

Kearney emigrated to America

in 1850;

Obama is expected to address a

monster rally at Croke Park;

First Lady Michelle Obama also has

Irish roots; and

Dan Rooney, US ambassador in

Dublin, is a chief driver of the visit.


Transatlantic Connections 27

28 Music in the Air

Music in the Air 29

MOUNTAINS MAKETH THE MANIf there was ever a metaphor for Patrick’s life in Ireland, it would be a mountain. Slemish changed a boy into a man, but it’s Mayo’s Croagh Patrick that made the man a saint. Journey back to 441AD when St Patrick earned the views of Clew Bay’s islands by scaling the mountain barefoot.

Legend has Ireland’s patron saint spending the 40 days of Lent up here, deep in meditation, fasting and praying, and surviving on faith alone. The legacy of St Patrick is indelibly written in the paths worn smooth by the centuries of people who have followed in his footsteps. It lives and breathes in tradition and folklore, in the thousands of people who gather on ‘Reek Sunday’ to brave those scree-covered slopes at the end of every July (footwear optional).

A LEGACY OF A LIFETIMESt Patrick’s journey left us with an incredible legacy in the centuries that followed. Take Monasterboice in County Louth: the rather obscure St Buite founded his monastery here in the 5th century and in its remains you’ll find two of Ireland’s oldest Christian high crosses. One hundred years later, St Ciarán founded his centre of learning at Clonmacnoise on the banks of the River Shannon. In that same century, County Down’s Bangor Abbey also became a training centre for the missionaries who kept the Christian light burning through the darkest years of the Middle Ages. St Kevin arrived in Wicklow’s lush Glendalough in the 7th century and his still-standing round tower served as beacon to guide pilgrims and as a place of refuge in times of attack.

Such was the dedication of the monastic community, their reach extended to some pretty inhospitable spots. The World Heritage Site of Skellig Michael teeters on a rocky outcrop in the Atlantic Ocean off Kerry’s coastline. The monks’ weather-beaten but perfectly preserved beehive cells remain from the 6th century. Directly north, in rugged Donegal, St Columba engraved the landscape of Glencolmcille with Christian pillars and ancient tombs along a jaw-dropping ocean-front mountain walk. Another site with an important element of Christian heritage is Devenish Island in County Fermanagh. Founded in the 6th century by St Molaise, today visitors can

view extensive ruins including a 12th century round tower and a graveyard with an unusual mid-15th century carved cross.

A PERSONAL JOURNEYThe trail of Christian heritage in Ireland has evolved into a journey where reverence and personal journeys join in a seamless union with camaraderie and sprawling views touched by heaven. And as your legs loosen between each and every step along the trail, embrace the reflectiveness of these spiritual places. Take a moment, think of nothing. Just be. After all, that’s what St Patrick would have done.<

30 discoverireland.com discoverireland.com 31

2,507ftthe height of Croagh Patrick

}The World Heritage Site of Skellig Michael teeters on a rocky outcrop in the Atlantic Ocean off Kerry’s coastline~

SAINT PATRICK’S TRAIL

You can easily follow in St Patrick’s footsteps by taking the St Patrick’s Trail through a host of Christian sites from Bangor, Newtownards, Downpatrick, Newry and Armagh. Ireland’s patron saint lived a nomadic life as he moved around the island spreading Christianity. One of the stops on the trail is Saul Church, said to be the first ecclesiastical site in Ireland, three miles from where Patrick was later buried. It’s all marked out for you in a 92-mile driving route linking 15 key sites, all identified as having some connection to St Patrick’s life, legacy or landscape – they are all just waiting to be explored.

Grey Abbey, Co. Down

St Patrick’s Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Armagh

Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary

Robin Adams is the Librarian of Trinity College Dublin, responsible for the Book of Kells.

The Book of Kells is a copy of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It’s written in Latin by monks of the Order of Colmcille, and we think the date is about

the 9th century. We’re not sure exactly where it was written. We know it was in Kells, County Meath in the 11th century, when it was first recorded.

“It is a spectacularly ornate, complex manuscript. The book itself is important as an embodiment of the Christian message and it also tells us that the monastic communities had a highly sophisticated view of the Christian faith. Much of the rest of mainland Europe was in a state of turmoil and Christianity was quite disrupted. There was a strong faith that the monks could and should bring the Christian belief into Europe through the Word as it was in the Gospels.

“Now, there’s a sense of trying to understand the past through a single book. People are attracted to it because it’s a beautiful thing – and you can also work out what people believed and how they lived.”

Meet... Robin Adams

“

To find out more about Christian heritage and its important sites, visit discoverireland.com

Discover more...

Follow us on Twitter

Find us on Facebook

28 SUMMER ANNUAL 2012

GARDA MUSEUM

The Record Tower of Dublin Castle, built in the 1220s, is an historic place at the best of times – but inside, a much more modern but no less fascinating

historical attraction is to be found. This is where the Garda Museum resides, preserving Ireland’s police history and presenting it to the public. Sergeant Martin Drew is its new assistant curator, in the post since February.

“I was always interested in history – I’m a third generation Garda,” he explains. “My grandfather and four of his brothers joined in 1922, and my father also joined later. That was one of the reasons why I went for it when the job came up.”

He joins what is already a proud institution, despite its relatively young age. In the mid-to late-‘80s, Gregory Allen set up the Garda to find a repository for various important items that had been donated over the years: cadet uniforms handed in from the 1920s, for example and, the uniform of the final DMP commissioner Edward Johnson, which had been donated from England in the ‘50s. “The question was where to put them,” says Drew. “Gregory Allen was a known history enthusiast and he got the job as curator. After he retired, it fell to John Duffy and became a bigger operation, with five or six working here including Pat McGee.” McGee took over when Duffy retired.

It moved to Dublin Castle in the mid-‘90s, as Drew recalls, as more space was needed for IT functions at

Garda Headquarters. The tower became available when the Public Records Office moved out to its current incarnation as the National Archives on Bishop Street. “We got it and ran with it,” says Drew. “We have a lot of artefacts from Royal Irish Constabulary, Dublin Metropolitan Police and early Garda Síochána right up to the present day. We also have the register from the very start of the DMP.” This is helpful when researching one’s family history, something the museum is happy to help with.

They also have the safe from which the Irish Crown Jewels were stolen elsewhere in Dublin Castle in 1907; a mystery which remains unsolved and the subject of speculation and fascination ever since.

Intrigues of the TowerMany who might not have an interest in police history are drawn in by the views and the history of the tower itself, the only Norman tower left in Dublin as far as Drew is aware. This is where Red Hugh O’Donnell escaped on Christmas Eve in 1592. O’Donnell and his comrade Art O’Neill escaped to Glenmalure, O’Neill dying of exposure in the Wicklow Mountains. Red Hugh had his two big toes amputated due to frostbite, which failed to stop him progressing to Donegal and starting the Nine Years’ War against English rule.

Things are more settled in the Record Tower nowadays. The Garda Museum is under the authority of the Commissioner’s office and attracts a steady stream of visitors during the week, especially during the summer months. It’s a recession, and one tries to do one’s best with limited resources, but Drew does hope to reorganise a little and make things more chronological.

The museum is always on the lookout for new and interesting items of police history: they talk to people and if an item has historical significance and if there’s a place for it then they’re grateful to accept. Recently, medals were donated belonging to the famous Kildare sportsman Larry Stanley.

Open from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm Monday to Friday (best to make an appointment as space in the tower is limited), the Garda Museum is an essential visit for anyone with a passing interest in police history – or Irish history in general.

A Towering Achievement

The Garda Museum in the Record Tower of Dublin Castle has a new assistant curator. Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly speaks to Sergeant Martin Drew, in charge of displaying Ireland’s police history.

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oto/

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GT_Summer_12_ 1-29.indd 28 01/08/2012 11:57:03

30 Meet... Robin Adams

28 SUMMER ANNUAL 2012

GARDA MUSEUM

The Record Tower of Dublin Castle, built in the 1220s, is an historic place at the best of times – but inside, a much more modern but no less fascinating

historical attraction is to be found. This is where the Garda Museum resides, preserving Ireland’s police history and presenting it to the public. Sergeant Martin Drew is its new assistant curator, in the post since February.

“I was always interested in history – I’m a third generation Garda,” he explains. “My grandfather and four of his brothers joined in 1922, and my father also joined later. That was one of the reasons why I went for it when the job came up.”

He joins what is already a proud institution, despite its relatively young age. In the mid-to late-‘80s, Gregory Allen set up the Garda to find a repository for various important items that had been donated over the years: cadet uniforms handed in from the 1920s, for example and, the uniform of the final DMP commissioner Edward Johnson, which had been donated from England in the ‘50s. “The question was where to put them,” says Drew. “Gregory Allen was a known history enthusiast and he got the job as curator. After he retired, it fell to John Duffy and became a bigger operation, with five or six working here including Pat McGee.” McGee took over when Duffy retired.

It moved to Dublin Castle in the mid-‘90s, as Drew recalls, as more space was needed for IT functions at

Garda Headquarters. The tower became available when the Public Records Office moved out to its current incarnation as the National Archives on Bishop Street. “We got it and ran with it,” says Drew. “We have a lot of artefacts from Royal Irish Constabulary, Dublin Metropolitan Police and early Garda Síochána right up to the present day. We also have the register from the very start of the DMP.” This is helpful when researching one’s family history, something the museum is happy to help with.

They also have the safe from which the Irish Crown Jewels were stolen elsewhere in Dublin Castle in 1907; a mystery which remains unsolved and the subject of speculation and fascination ever since.

Intrigues of the TowerMany who might not have an interest in police history are drawn in by the views and the history of the tower itself, the only Norman tower left in Dublin as far as Drew is aware. This is where Red Hugh O’Donnell escaped on Christmas Eve in 1592. O’Donnell and his comrade Art O’Neill escaped to Glenmalure, O’Neill dying of exposure in the Wicklow Mountains. Red Hugh had his two big toes amputated due to frostbite, which failed to stop him progressing to Donegal and starting the Nine Years’ War against English rule.

Things are more settled in the Record Tower nowadays. The Garda Museum is under the authority of the Commissioner’s office and attracts a steady stream of visitors during the week, especially during the summer months. It’s a recession, and one tries to do one’s best with limited resources, but Drew does hope to reorganise a little and make things more chronological.

The museum is always on the lookout for new and interesting items of police history: they talk to people and if an item has historical significance and if there’s a place for it then they’re grateful to accept. Recently, medals were donated belonging to the famous Kildare sportsman Larry Stanley.

Open from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm Monday to Friday (best to make an appointment as space in the tower is limited), the Garda Museum is an essential visit for anyone with a passing interest in police history – or Irish history in general.

A Towering Achievement

The Garda Museum in the Record Tower of Dublin Castle has a new assistant curator. Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly speaks to Sergeant Martin Drew, in charge of displaying Ireland’s police history.

iSto

ckph

oto/

Thi

nkst

ock

GT_Summer_12_ 1-29.indd 28 01/08/2012 11:57:03

A Towering Achievement 31

87

In a time of turbulence and change for the traditional media, John O’Shea has joined The Irish Times as its head of online. He talks to Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly about digital media, paywalls and Ireland as a centre of digital technology.

It’s been obvious for years that the print media would have to embrace the web – evolve or face extinction.

�e trouble has been in �nding a way of turning clicks and page hits into revenue: the business model has lagged behind the technology..

Into the breech steps John O’Shea, who was appointed head of online at �e Irish Times in February. A veteran of the web since 1996, he headed up development company Webfactory until selling to Horizon Technology Group in 2001 and moving on to mo-bile data services company Zamano, which he le� last November.

“Obviously, the web is fundamen-tal to the future of �e Irish Times,” he says. “News is moving inexora-bly towards online, and online now means desktop, laptop, featurephone, smartphone and tablet. My job is to help optimise our o�ering so that we can o�er the best possible solution to readers in all channels, whatever way they want to consume our content.”

Over time, the aim is to start bundling content more attractively, allowing the possibility of having a free o�ering supported by sponsorship and advertising, alongside premium content that readers can’t get anywhere else or are prepared to pay for because of its authority. Much of the content is to be reorganised as the site is now a few years old, and the newspaper is in-vesting signi�cant sums in new content management systems to gain �exibility.

�e web o�ering is made more complicated by the fact that they have to put out a newspaper every day – “but print, despite everything, certainly has a life: 10, 15, 20 years of good revenues,” he says, and still a

source of strength once you stay ahead of the competition.

“My initial approach and my focus are around putting processes in place. One of the things I was most impressed by when I came into the organisation was the commitment and quality of the sta� and the number of ideas on how we could improve the digital o�er. My main task now is how we can prioritise between all these competing requests for resources, and try and focus on what we do best.”

uTHE PAYWALL DEBATEAll of this takes place at a time of debate within the industry: is charg-ing for content or making it freely accessible the best way forward? Ap-proaches di�er.

“If you were to take a particular ex-pertise that we have and put it behind a paywall, you’d have to look at how many people we would expect would pay for it,” he says. “It’s driven by the question: could they get that content elsewhere? �e counterpoint of that is: how much advertising revenue have we foregone?”

He feels that packaging content in a much better way will allow for a clearer idea of who reads what on the site, and a much more attractive proposition to advertisers – a paywall wouldn’t make business sense in that case. �e tendency for people to pay for content is still very low.

Even so, “I would imagine that cer-tain areas of our content or functional-ities will go behind a paywall at some point – but it’s only as a result of fairly in-depth analysis that it’s possible for that decision to be made.”

Stepping away from �e Irish

Times, O’Shea feels that Dublin and Ireland are healthy when it comes to digital and technology: it’s only now that the bene�ts of the multinational in�ux are being seen.

He’s encouraged by the level of activity among Irish tech startups and predicts the arrival of immigrants: not builders this time, but technology-focused people. “I certainly think that Dublin is very well-positioned and much more competitive in terms of the cost of doing business and living, so I’d be quite positive at this stage regarding our prospects.”

In an evolving industry based in a changing economy, O’Shea’s new role will be at the centre of some very signi�cant developments indeed. g

COMMERCIAL PROFILE

THE IRISH TIMES

John O’Shea, Head of Online, �e Irish Times.

DIGITAL TIMES

“News is moving inexorably towards online, and online now means desktop, laptop, featurephone, smartphone and tablet. My job is to help optimise our offering so that we can offer the best possible solution to readers in all channels.”

bi Q1 2012 final.indd 87 17/04/2012 19:04:47

32 Digital Times

Q2 2011 | InBusiness

Sport. “The worldwide publicity means they were worth every cent. Money simply can’t buy this sort of coverage, especially in our key source markets of Great Britain and the United States. Up to 300 million in positive publicity was generated,” he says. “I hope both visits will bring thousands of new tourists to Ireland.”

Indeed, tourism was identified as a major beneficiary well in advance of the visits, as Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, told us at the time. Looking back, he is pleasantly surprised. “We always knew that this was going to be a significant global platform to get a positive Ireland message out, and what is significant is that six months before they came there

in the polls than ever before, Irish journalists reportedly joking that he should “call the election now” as they watched the Obama address. Kenny later told attendees at a business dinner that he had received over 3,500 positive texts and messages from around the world.

That these were remarkable days is beyond doubt. Anecdotes and sound bites were ten a penny during and after the visits, but how do things look now that the dust has settled?

“The visits of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama were an outstanding success,” declares Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, Tourism and

May 2011 was one to remember as milestone events such as the sad passing of Garret

FitzGerald and the heroism of Leinster’s rugby winners were almost entirely dwarfed by the visits of US President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II.

The historical significance of the latter visit was particularly striking, with some extraordinary set-pieces and much talk of history coming full circle. As for Obama, a Moneygall pint and a smiles-and-sunshine College Green speech did the trick. It will be a good year for Reeling In The Years.

A good year for Taoiseach Enda Kenny too: the visits were an immense personal boost. With a feel-good factor lingering in the air, the Taoiseach is riding higher

feel-good+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

factorThe

InBusQ2_1-48.indd 23 05/08/2011 16:33:57

The Feel-Good Factor 33

| InBusiness

demonstrate that Ireland is about more than bust banks and ghost estates.

The visits were a timely reminder of economic links across the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The export-led recovery is the only game in town, and indeed June saw the publication of CSO figures indicating Ireland’s first balance of payments surplus since 1999: 761m. It is in this context that politicians and State agencies were eager to promote relations with the US and UK. Whether these translate into increased business is a question best answered later in the year.

The security situation was a loud ingredient in the pre-visit narrative, especially where the Queen was concerned. “I always felt confident, given the amount of planning that went into it, that everything would go according to plan,” says Gibbons. “What would have been of concern to us was the negative headlines around dissident activity in the run-up to the visit. That sort of stuff just doesn’t help.

“I went down to the media centre on the morning she arrived, and I could just tell from the mood of the press that all they were looking for was the first image of her arriving, and everything would move on. They were absolutely right. The mood was overwhelmingly positive and well-disposed. The planning was superb, and you’d have

It’s not just tourism that benefits, though. The image of Ireland was in severe need of a facelift. After three years of deeply negative headlines quite correctly depicting Ireland’s troubles, the visits offer some platform, at long last, to

was nothing but negative headlines about Ireland around the world. Those have moved off the stage now, which is great.”

Gibbons expected between 500-1,000 journalists to travel to Ireland to report on the visits. It ended up at 1,200, which is terrific. In terms of positive publicity, we predicted we’d probably have about

150m of free publicity worldwide. It’s ended up at 300m.” The final score: 38,000 print articles in 110 countries.

On one day during the royal visit, over 5,000 articles appeared in 1,000 publications worldwide. Obama’s visit generated 11,000 articles in 48 hours – and 50,000 tweets. The publicity was accompanied by advertising campaigns, including 30-second television slots on ITV and Channel 4 that reached over three million people, and a 12-page supplement in the London Times that reached over one million readers in the wake of the Queen’s visit.

Compared with the same period last year, Hotels.com searches by US and UK users exploded, as did traffic to Tourism Ireland’s Facebook page, market-specific websites and media resources. A survey of international journalists was conducted, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. “It’s surpassed all expectations – it’s a little bit early to tell whether that’s converting into bookings or not,” says Gibbons.

InBusQ2_1-48.indd 24 05/08/2011 16:34:08

34 The Feel-Good Factor

| InBusiness

not necessarily mean a huge increase in 2011, but for 2012 and onwards we should recover a lot of lost ground.”

The past few years have been unhappy for Irish tourism, and last year’s slump of 15 per cent brought visitor numbers down to 1998 levels. Gibbons notes that the number of British people travelling abroad is stuck at the same level it was in 2001, and the UK is Ireland’s biggest market.

“CSO fi gures for the fi rst quarter of 2011 show that trips to Ireland were already up by 8.6 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2010,” says Varadkar. “These are the fi rst fi gures from the CSO to show growth since those for mid-2008. The challenge is to maintain this upward momentum, but I have sensed a new confi dence within the sector.”

Where next for tourism in Ireland? Varadkar points to the Jobs Initiative, where items such as the removal of the much-maligned air travel tax, changes to airport charges, VAT reductions and a visa waiver programme are all geared towards stimulating tourism.

But now that all the excitement is over, the focus returns to problems both external and internal. The future of the Euro continues to be debated, as does Ireland’s intimidating debt situation – and meanwhile, consumer sentiment receded in June, suggesting that the feel-good factor has yet to translate into immediate domestic demand. May 2011 was one to remember, but now it’s back to reality.

visits paid for themselves many times over, as suggested by the Tourism Ireland numbers.

The improved mood in Irish tourism is reflected by an Irish Hotels Federation survey in which 94 per cent of hoteliers thought the Queen’s visit had a positive impact, with 83 per cent expecting an increase in visitors. Similarly, Obama scored at 92 per cent, with 77 per cent expecting more visitors.

“It was a great boon to the industry, and it put Ireland on the international pages and airwaves in a positive way,” says Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, Managing Director of Heritage Island, a marketing company that works with attractions such as the Guinness Storehouse and Book of Kells – both of which the Queen visited.

“It’s very hard to be concrete – looking at it from a practical perspective, just because Obama is in Ireland on the American news doesn’t mean that people are going to run out and book a holiday straight away, but it puts Ireland in a positive position. When American or British people are planning their next trip they’re going to look at Ireland in a positive light. That can only be a good thing. It may

to compliment all the people involved: the Gardaí, the Department of Foreign Affairs, all the offi cials, the British Embassy – they all did a superb job in giving us something memorable.”

Dublin in particular saw what must have been the largest security operation in Irish history, with the closure of streets and the Liffey’s bridges demanding patience of those unlucky enough to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, to say nothing of the intensive preparation work by Gardaí and detectives, who were everywhere. With the route of the visit in lockdown, peaceful protest and minor scuffl es took place, but the vast majority of people either welcomed or were indifferent to the royal visit.

All that security leads to another potential criticism of the visits: their cost. The question was legitimately asked how Ireland, in austerity mode, could afford to play host, especially given the recent announcement by Justice Minister, Alan Shatter that the cost of the security operation will account for 36m of the final bill. The answer was returned that the

InBusQ2_1-48.indd 25 05/08/2011 16:34:14

The Feel-Good Factor 35


and Germany account for 75 per cent of the

visitors. However, there have been operations

in India and China for fi ve years, and they

continue to work on a trade and media

strategy to raise awareness.

Social media is in the mix too: “If Ireland

was a country on Facebook, we’d be the fourth

biggest country in the world – and rising”, he

says. “The scenery, the people, the warmth

and the welcome are all still very strong factors

that resonate, and that’s what the marketing is

trying to capitalise on.”

Easing into the summer season, he says

it’s all to play for. A rebound is hoped for

in 2011, and signs are good for 2012. The

Convention Centre in Dublin opens up a new

market that hasn’t been there before. Golf

tourism is returning, and next year’s Volvo

Ocean Race and Titanic centenary are all

reasons to be optimistic.

First things fi rst, though: the Queen’s visit.

As an opportunity to reach out to Ireland’s

most important tourism market, Tourism

Ireland intends to grasp it with both hands.

allow us to make sure fi rstly that they get a

great welcome, and also that they get the

opportunity to do what we call pre- and

post-familiarisation visits. So it’s not just to talk

about the royal visit, but also the other aspects

of Ireland from a tourism perspective.”

One reason why it represents such a timely

opportunity is that the past few years have been

unkind to Irish tourism. Overall numbers visiting

the island of Ireland were at 6.6 million last

year, a decline of 12.9 per cent. Poor consumer

confi dence in Great Britain had a knock-on

effect, the economic recession has hit every

country, there was a decline in the number of

seats available by air, and poor perceptions of

value for money have all played their part.

“Ireland already has a strong brand, and

while the international headlines have been very

negative over the past number of months – you

can’t deny that – there isn’t any discernible

evidence out there that shows that it’s having a

big impact from a tourism perspective.” Traveller

safety and security is paramount, and one

possibility is that the Libyan crisis will have an

impact on Americans travelling abroad.

As for the question of competitiveness and

value for money, progress has been made. A

recent global Hotels.com survey showed that

Ireland has the cheapest hotels in Western

Europe. The price of eating out has declined.

Currency fl uctuations, which hurt so much

over ten years, have crept back favourably.

“We’ve been working on perceptions, but they

don’t change overnight – they change over

time,” says Gibbons, noting that perceptions

about value for money were ten per cent more

positive last year than in 2009.

He expects a visitor increase of around four

per cent this year, with positive indications

from the US and Canada. The key focus is on

the top four markets – Britain, America, France

THE IMPORTANCE OF close Anglo-Irish ties

is a day-to-day reality for Niall Gibbons, in his

duties as Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland.

“Britain is our most important tourism

market,” he acknowledges. “It accounts for

about half of all visitors to the island of Ireland

and about 35 per cent of all revenue. It will

be important for many years to come. And of

course we have very good access links by both

air and sea from the UK.”

Close family ties with Britain are a huge

infl uence – Gibbons says that nearly half that

business is comprised of visitors coming back to

see friends and relatives. Proximity is an obvious

factor, and the strong cultural and trade links

between the two countries will always be there.

“We’re in a process of revitalising the Ireland

brand, and refreshing it. The Queen’s visit gives

us the opportunity to showcase Ireland in a very

positive light.”

And it will be all hands on deck, he says.

“We will have a very strong campaign in place

in Britain around the visit. A hugely important

dimension is provided by the international

media who are travelling.

“We expect up to 1,000 journalists, which

is a very signifi cant number, and it will

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

most important market

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland.


36 Irish Tourism’s Most Important Market


and Germany account for 75 per cent of the

visitors. However, there have been operations

in India and China for fi ve years, and they

continue to work on a trade and media

strategy to raise awareness.

Social media is in the mix too: “If Ireland

was a country on Facebook, we’d be the fourth

biggest country in the world – and rising”, he

says. “The scenery, the people, the warmth

and the welcome are all still very strong factors

that resonate, and that’s what the marketing is

trying to capitalise on.”

Easing into the summer season, he says

it’s all to play for. A rebound is hoped for

in 2011, and signs are good for 2012. The

Convention Centre in Dublin opens up a new

market that hasn’t been there before. Golf

tourism is returning, and next year’s Volvo

Ocean Race and Titanic centenary are all

reasons to be optimistic.

First things fi rst, though: the Queen’s visit.

As an opportunity to reach out to Ireland’s

most important tourism market, Tourism

Ireland intends to grasp it with both hands.

allow us to make sure fi rstly that they get a

great welcome, and also that they get the

opportunity to do what we call pre- and

post-familiarisation visits. So it’s not just to talk

about the royal visit, but also the other aspects

of Ireland from a tourism perspective.”

One reason why it represents such a timely

opportunity is that the past few years have been

unkind to Irish tourism. Overall numbers visiting

the island of Ireland were at 6.6 million last

year, a decline of 12.9 per cent. Poor consumer

confi dence in Great Britain had a knock-on

effect, the economic recession has hit every

country, there was a decline in the number of

seats available by air, and poor perceptions of

value for money have all played their part.

“Ireland already has a strong brand, and

while the international headlines have been very

negative over the past number of months – you

can’t deny that – there isn’t any discernible

evidence out there that shows that it’s having a

big impact from a tourism perspective.” Traveller

safety and security is paramount, and one

possibility is that the Libyan crisis will have an

impact on Americans travelling abroad.

As for the question of competitiveness and

value for money, progress has been made. A

recent global Hotels.com survey showed that

Ireland has the cheapest hotels in Western

Europe. The price of eating out has declined.

Currency fl uctuations, which hurt so much

over ten years, have crept back favourably.

“We’ve been working on perceptions, but they

don’t change overnight – they change over

time,” says Gibbons, noting that perceptions

about value for money were ten per cent more

positive last year than in 2009.

He expects a visitor increase of around four

per cent this year, with positive indications

from the US and Canada. The key focus is on

the top four markets – Britain, America, France

THE IMPORTANCE OF close Anglo-Irish ties

is a day-to-day reality for Niall Gibbons, in his

duties as Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland.

“Britain is our most important tourism

market,” he acknowledges. “It accounts for

about half of all visitors to the island of Ireland

and about 35 per cent of all revenue. It will

be important for many years to come. And of

course we have very good access links by both

air and sea from the UK.”

Close family ties with Britain are a huge

infl uence – Gibbons says that nearly half that

business is comprised of visitors coming back to

see friends and relatives. Proximity is an obvious

factor, and the strong cultural and trade links

between the two countries will always be there.

“We’re in a process of revitalising the Ireland

brand, and refreshing it. The Queen’s visit gives

us the opportunity to showcase Ireland in a very

positive light.”

And it will be all hands on deck, he says.

“We will have a very strong campaign in place

in Britain around the visit. A hugely important

dimension is provided by the international

media who are travelling.

“We expect up to 1,000 journalists, which

is a very signifi cant number, and it will

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

most important market

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland.


90 InBusiness | QI 2011

Queen has been all over the world, but has not

visited our nearest neighbour, one of our most

important trading partners.”

The visit is an opportunity to celebrate the

range of links across these islands, and to

symbolise the transformed relationship between

our two countries.

In London, the spirit is reciprocated by the

Irish ambassador. “The visit will deepen every

dimension of the British-Irish relationship,” says

Ambassador, Bobby McDonagh. Indeed, “It

can only serve to highlight the importance of

the economic relationship,” as he describes it as

one of interdependence, where the markets are

closely aligned, food and tourism play a huge

part, and Irish fi rms create more jobs in London

than their Chinese counterparts.

The relationship and the Queen’s visit, are

both immensely important for Irish business.

Although the tangles of history will guarantee

protests and immense security sensitivities,

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has described the costs

of the visit as an “investment for the future.”

Tourism is perhaps the most obvious

immediate benefi ciary. “In 2009, 46 per cent of

Ireland’s tourism came from Britain, spending

over 1bn directly into the Irish economy,” says

King. Likewise, Britain has a reliance on Irish

tourism, with 10 per cent of total tourists coming

from Ireland, he says. Green is “surprised and

saddened” that, despite the many attractions of

Ireland, tourism from Britain has been dropping

since 2006.

This ties in with the position of organisations

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

CSO trade statistics, 2010 Exports to GB: 12.5bn

Imports from GB: 13.6bn

Exports to NI: 1.3bn

Imports from NI: 1bn

An Irish

one that keeps growing from year to year.

“This demonstrates the wealth of business that

is available to the enterprising exporter who is

ready and willing to move into markets outside

of their own country. Ireland welcomes business

from overseas, as does the UK, which makes us

ideal partners for economic growth.”

Julian King, British Ambassador in Dublin,

works even closer to the coalface. “This is the

fi rst ever state visit to Ireland,” he notes. “The

HISTORY’S SHADOW IS LONG. When

Queen Elizabeth II visits the Republic on

May 17th, certain things can be expected – a

sense of closure is one. A sense of controversy

another. Whatever one’s perspective, the

political, social and historical narrative will

dominate coverage.

However, the visit also holds particular

signifi cance for the business community. Trade

with Britain, and indeed the economic impact

of the visit itself, are high on the agenda – and

there’s never been a more appropriate time to

acknowledge the fact.

“Ireland is the UK’s fi fth largest export

market worldwide, and remains one of our

most signifi cant international partners,” explains

Lord Green, UK Minister of State for Trade and

Investment. Ireland, in turn, exported 12.5

billion of goods to Great Britain, and 1.3bn

to Northern Ireland. “As such, we cannot

underestimate the importance of trade to our

respective economies and to the fi nancial health

of individual fi rms across both countries.”

Bilateral trade in goods between the UK

and Ireland reached £28.98bn in 2010, “A

considerable fi gure,” according to Green, and

Julian King, British Ambassador in Dublin.


An Irish Welcome 37

QI 2011 | InBusiness 91

attention to over 800 Irish businesses who have

registered interest in contracts for the Olympics,

and a number have won major deals. There

are 60 Irish companies listed on the London

stock exchanges and there are over 40,000

Irish directors of UK companies, which the

ambassador fi nds “quite staggering.”

“Obviously we need to do more than

sell to each other if we are to prosper, and

cooperation between governments can yield

benefi ts for both economies. We need to get

companies who have never sold abroad before

to do so,” he says, and this applies particularly

to the SME sector.

One example of a company already operating

in this space is Goffs, auctioneers in the equine

industry. Their Chief Executive, Henry Beeby,

says that trade across the Irish Sea would better

be described as one market, but that the visit is

important for the industry in Ireland.

“Here we have a chance to showcase our

bloodstock – the best in the world – to a

massive international audience, as the Queen’s

visit will attract global coverage.” As a side

note, Goffs has indirectly had dealings with the

royal family – DBS, its UK operation, has sold a

number of horses for the Queen.

Different levels of political co-operation can

benefi t business – for example, Ambassador

Julian King highlights the work of trade agencies

such as Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland

and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), who

are working with companies to help make

investment happen.

“We have a UKTI team based here in Ireland

also working with Irish companies helping them

to set up in the UK,” says Green. Foreign direct

investment is also important to both economies

in terms of boosting exports, creating jobs and

promoting greater competition and quality among

indigenous fi rms. In this regard I believe IDA

Ireland continues to outperform its peers,” he says.

Indeed, the Great British market is important –

but Northern Ireland also operates within the UK,

and so a cross-border perspective comes from

Aidan Gough, Strategy and Policy Director at

InterTradeIreland, which promotes north-south

trade. “On the back of any of these visits, there

tends to be an increase in communications

between the business communities. In that

regard, it can only be good.

“Relationships can become closer and

businesses can take advantage and highlight their

products. The two economies are very integrated

such as Tourism Ireland. Chief Executive Niall

Gibbons sees similar opportunities and context.

“It’s 100 years since the last royal visit

to Dublin by King George V, and that’s an

historical and political story in itself. This is

an indication of the improved relationship

between Ireland and the UK as a whole. On

top of that, we had David Cameron in the

House of Lords this year getting his bowl of

shamrock – it just shows you how much things

have moved on from where they once were.”

But this has tangible benefi ts, aside from

entries in history books.

“This is building on normalisation, and that’s

a really positive story to sell,” Gibbons says,

“It’s building on strong existing trade, cultural

and ancestral links that exist between the

two countries and it will allow Ireland to be

showcased to a large scale, not just in the UK

but across the world, because of the signifi cance

of the visit.” Indeed, Gibbons plans to display

the best of Ireland to 1,000 visiting international

journalists – an unprecedented opportunity,

amplifi ed in the light of recent tourism statistics.

The UK-Irish economic relationship is

interwoven in other ways. Ambassador Julian

King praises the work of Irish companies

pursuing opportunities in the UK, drawing

On the itinerary Áras an Uachtaráin

Garden of Remembrance

Croke Park

National War Memorial Gardens

Irish National Stud

Rock of Cashel

Cork city

Trinity College Dublin

Guinness Storehouse

Dublin Castle

and dependent on each other,” he says.

The ambassador in London agrees. “Trade

across borders is a natural global business

phenomenon and is all the more important with

near neighbours. Developing trade across the

island of Ireland is self-evidently in the interests

of business,” he says, and the fact that tourists

are encouraged to see Ireland as a single

destination reveals the level of co-operation.

Another cross-border fi gure is Martin

Dennany of Waterways Ireland, who welcomes

the visit and hopes that the Queen gets a

true Irish welcome. “Waterways have no

borders, but they run through some of the

most disadvantaged areas around Ireland.

The expansion and increase in development

will boost work, jobs and recreation,” he says,

confi dent that projects such as the Shannon-

Erne Waterway have proved their economic

benefi ts, as have hire boats and private cruisers

– north and south.

Indeed, all involved clearly recognise the

opportunity to put the best foot forward. In the

words of Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Minister for

Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Queen’s visit

and Barack Obama's “will help to improve the

image of Ireland, and it’s a real opportunity to

showcase the country as a great destination for

business and leisure.”

Speaking in London before the visit, Prime

Minister David Cameron said that he expected

“a great moment for both our countries,” and

was excited to be accompanying the Queen on

her visit. For his part, Enda Kenny said that the

vast majority of Irish people will welcome her,

and praised the sensitivity of her itinerary.

History will be made – but the real story

of today’s Anglo-Irish relationship is told by

CSO fi gures, not just the history books or the

rugby results.Lord Green, UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment.


38 An Irish Welcome

| InBusiness

As one of the most globalised countries in the world, it helps to have some way of getting

products and raw materials onto and off of this island of ours. For all the dramas and high profile of the airline sector, it is the shipping industry that actually does most of the work. After all, the harsh winters and volcanic eruption of recent years go to show some of the challenges of keeping an island open for business during adverse circumstances.

It is an interesting time for the sector, and one of growth. Exports are up: the latest CSO figures show the exports figure running 8 per cent ahead of its position last year, now standing at 31.2 billion for the first quarter. The economy moved into balance of payments surplus in 2010; the first since 1999.

This progress is mirrored in the statistics for traffic through Irish ports: according to the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO), four of the five key sectors are up in the first quarter of this year: lift on/lift off volumes up 3 per cent, roll-on/roll off up 2 per cent, dry bulk volumes up by 21 per cent and breakbulk volumes up by 25 per cent.

The shipping forecast+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Last year was one of recovery, following collapse in 2009.

Ireland’s biggest cargo ports are Dublin, Rosslare and Cork. “Overall trade is up by 0.9 per cent, but that is driven mainly on the export side,” reveals Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port. “Our exports are up 4.2 per cent, but our imports are down by about 1.3 per cent compared with the first six months of last year. That probably emphasises just how weak the domestic economy is, and also the comparison with the export trade: it continues to grow.”

It’s often said that ports are a microcosm of the economy at large, and indeed they have such a keen perspective on economic matters that their figures

feed the CSO statistics. O’Reilly cites petroleum, diesel and aviation fuel: half of Ireland’s consumption of these pass through Dublin Port, and they are an example of trends happening in the wider economy. There has been a

decline of about 2.8 per cent, and that suggests that the domestic economy is still sluggish.

“I’d be loath to predict the economy, but I believe that when there’s a bit more confidence and we’ve got to the real bottom of the economic recession, my sense of it is that we will see a very rapid increase in volumes through Dublin Port. The reason I say that is that when the recession commenced we saw a very rapid decline, particularly in the movement of containers from the Far East.” Discretionary spending is the major factor here.

O’Reilly is planning for a surge of 200,000 containers from the Far East per annum once the domestic consumer begins spending again, and that will represent around 2m tonnes. To put the figure into context, Dublin Port’s best year ever totalled almost 31m tonnes. There is no way of knowing how long that might take, and it rests entirely on Ireland’s chances of economic recovery.

“Trade looks good,” reports Captain Michael McCarthy, Commercial Manager of the Port of Cork. “We’ve seen an increase in certain trades in the first six months of 2011. The container business in 2010 was static, but we have seen a six per cent rise this year as well.” Last year saw a significant increase in animal feed - indeed, the importance of the agri

InBusQ2_49-96.indd 59 05/08/2011 16:27:27

The Shipping Forecast 39

| InBusiness

sector should not be underestimated, particularly in Munster.

Much of the imported trade is seasonal. For example, animal feed is quiet at the time of writing, as animals are out on farm pastures. Pharmaceuticals, the drinks industry, and computer products are steady business throughout the year – multinationals in manufacturing depend on Irish ports. The Port of Cork is the only Irish port with an oil refinery; over 5m tonnes of oil is imported for refining, distribution and export. Cork, like Dublin, is a container feeder port, and it serves Antwerp, Rotterdam, Zeebruge, Le Harve and Felixtowe for onward shipment everywhere.

The big news regarding the restructuring of the port sector in recent times has been the McCarthy report (no relation), which proposed the sale of State assets to cut debt. Shipping features prominently: privatisation is a possibility, and Colm McCarthy urged a strategy of focusing on three key strategic competing ports: Dublin, Cork and Shannon Foynes.

While the Irish economy and port policy are evolving to suit the national situation, the global shipping industry is itself in evolution, says Captain McCarthy. “For future investment to ensure Ireland is competitive, it’s important that the main ports develop to cater for the trend in ships’ design, which is that they’re getting increasingly bigger.

“For example, six years ago we would have 12 container ship calls per week to the continent. That’s now done by six much larger vessels, with exports on the increase. In other words, the ships are getting bigger, have greater capacity and there’s more consolidation and ship sharing between companies. There are economies of scale built in. In order for Ireland and particularly Dublin and Cork to cater for the increasing size of feeder container vessels, investment is needed to develop the facilities to cater for this size of ships.”

Indeed, the latest IMDO figures estimate that 33 per cent of available shipping capacity has been removed in the past 36 months: vessel sharing agreements on important shipping corridors are more and more familiar.

And so with these trends afoot in the maritime industry, Dublin and Cork have much in common: they’re both planning for their future expansion. In Dublin’s case, that has taken the form of a high-profile consultation process. This is tricky, involving a vast array of interested parties and acknowledging environmental sensitivities, particularly where land reclamation is involved. Dublin Port is a large operation and has a significant effect on all that surrounds

it. The aim is to produce a masterplan; a roadmap for the port’s development in the short, medium and long term.

“The question we are trying to answer is: how would Dublin Port handle 60m tonnes by 2040?” asks O’Reilly. “By doing this masterplan I think we’re creating a level of consultation that means that our plans and projects that we bring forward will be well thought out, and hopefully largely agreed in advance.

“The important thing is that the people of Dublin will know what the port is going to look like, and when the projects come there will not be a surprise – and I think that’s very important.” With a masterplan in place, expected by the end of the year, they can move forward towards planning permission as and when market demand dictates. The plan extends over a 30-year period, so some projects may come within a year or two, whereas others will have a much longer timeframe. It will be published by the end of the year.

The Port of Cork is perhaps further down the development road. They were turned down for planning permission by An Bord Pleanála two and a half years ago for a new terminal in the lower harbour. “That made us go back to review the whole strategy again and review all possible sites within Cork Harbour” says McCarthy. “Following the comprehensive review and extensive public consultation we’ve got board approval for a new strategic plan and we anticipate being in a position to go for further consultation and planning for a new multi-purpose ro-ro/lo-lo berth in the lower harbour at Ringaskiddy in early 2012.”

Even so, there has been continual investment in recent years. “We’ve upgraded our cranes for bulk cargoes, we’ve upgraded our handling equipment for containers and have invested in a dedicated cruise berth in Cobh.”

The only dedicated cruise berth in Ireland gives it a major platform to win business: they have hosted all the Cunard Queens, and the biggest of the Royal Caribbean and Carnival lines. It has been a period of year-on -year growth, and Cobh has the capacity to cater for the larger cruise liners of the future.

The Irish economy is struggling to return to growth, and the maritime sector in Ireland is considering the McCarthy report’s restructuring suggestions while continuing to prepare for an upturn. At this busy hub of economic activity, so vital to an island, its future is already being mapped out.

InBusQ2_49-96.indd 60 05/08/2011 16:27:28

40 The Shipping Forecast

Students are often portrayed as apathetic and apolitical - but Ireland’s bustling campus politics scene gives lie to this stereotype.

The idea was simple: assem-ble a bunch of youth-wing party hacks and subject

them to a Vincent Browne-style grilling. Hopefully, we would gain an insight into youth politics and the murky world of the on-campus political party.

The five undergraduates gath-ered around our coffee cup-strewn table in the old-world plushness of the Library Bar at Dublin’s Central Hotel are articulate and, despite their youth, speak with the authority of seasoned campaign-ers. There is a glaring gender chasm here, and believe you me we’ll come to that. But despite that they are, for better or worse, the established political parties’ next generation of politicians and activists.

The most obvious question, of course, is: why on earth would you join a political party in col-lege?

“If you want to shape policy that’s where you have to be,” says Ciarán Delargy (Ógra FF). But aren’t college societies for drink-ing and cavorting? “They’re not mutually exclusive! I’ve had great nights out with Ógra Fianna Fáil”. The importance of retiring to the pub for drinks after a meeting is underlined by others around the table too.

Michael Clancy (Young FG), agrees that it’s about influencing policy and learning one’s trade. “What can youth politics achieve? I think if you look at the people

who started off in student move-ments... Fine Gael have Lucinda Creighton and Leo Varadkar. It gives people lots more sup-port, because the older wing in any party can act as a barrier for younger people getting involved. People wouldn’t feel so at ease with themselves otherwise.”

“A rule I have with my mates at home outside of the Labour party is that I don’t talk politics,” says Gary Honer. Some agree, some disagree. They’ve given up explaining to friends why they’d give their time over to politics at this age. There’s no point.

“I’ve actually lost contact with some friends because they don’t see why I devote my time to politics. But I’m sure there are people who take up guitar and don’t see as much of certain friends as a result,” says Oisín Ó Dubhláin (Ógra SF).

To some, on-campus politics are boring beyond comprehen-sion. It breaks down into two spheres, each very much a love/hate fixation: youth branch poli-tics – which is part of the general cut-and-thrust of campus society life – and student union politics.

“I think the political societ-ies are even less cliquey than the other societies. They have to renew themselves constantly, and appeal to political-minded people. The last 20 years of corruption and scandal has put people off, so you really need to get out there and bring people to you,” says Ó Dubhláin.

In question here is public cynicism: it’s agreed that many people have a low opinion of poli-tics, but apart from catchphrases

like ‘engaging with people’ or ‘communicating the message’ more clearly it’s hard to know how to remedy it. To Barra Roant-ree of the Young Greens, there are wider sociological points to be made.

“I’m on the press release e-mail lists of some of the parties and organisations, and just seeing how they get reproduced word for word, edited down by the editor on the desk in the newspapers... I’m very cynical of anything I read. Something like 90% of all news is initiated from some press release.”

Later on, in a staunch defence of the Green record in govern-ment, Roantree takes us into the minutae of the planning laws. It’s not exactly sexy politics. “That’s the thing. I think we’re going to get really bashed because we’re making all these changes and peo-ple aren’t going to notice them.”

“I think it’s more cynicism about political parties and indi-viduals and the spin rather than ‘politics’ per se,” says Honer, and most seem to agree with him. Michael Clancy intervenes: “You have to keep people interested. Start talking to them about ‘pol-icy’ straight out and you won’t get any members, you’ll get a glazed look in people’s eyes. It’s a healthy balance.

He continues: “Young people are cynical about politics, and personally I put it entirely down to successive FF governments who misused public finances and created this disillusionment within Irish politics.” This causes a row.

Is student radicalism dead? “It is universities that tend to

Party AnimalsPublished Hot Press, September 10th 2008

Party Animals 41

radicalise people, but there just hasn’t been that kind of radical-ism since the ‘70s and ‘80s. The comfy middle classes want noth-ing more than to go to the near-est Starbuck’s,” says Roantree. Delargy disagrees. “Yeah, but a lot of the things that radicalised people in the ‘70s and ‘80s have been solved. Equality for so many groups.” Roantree scoffs:“Well there’s still no-one in council flats? There are issues that have been swept under the carpet. There’s still no national health service, transport is a mess but you don’t have that degree of radi-calisation. That’s because a lot of us have just become accustomed to a consumerist type of lifestyle.”

The other side of the campus coin, then, is the student union movement. The table is divided on its usefulness. “I think the USI is relevant, and I think there needs to be a body representing the voice of students in a non-partisan way to the government,” argues Honer. Ó Dubhláin argues strongly that the USI needs huge reform in order to stay relevant. The trouble is that a student union, whether lo-cal or national, only really proves its worth in a crisis. “It’s one thing saying people are ‘put off’ by the USI, but most students are completely and utterly apathetic about student poltics, with 10% turnout rates... Most of my friends couldn’t give a fiddle.”

“The days of the big student movements are gone,” accord-ing to Clancy. “If you organised

a rally tomorrow you’ll get half a dozen people... the saving grace will be fees, maybe. A huge, con-tentious issue.”

Ah, the F word. Delargy sticks his head above the para-pet to the sound of knives being sharpened. “I’m only reading the same thing you’re reading in The Irish Times. 100K threshold. I think you need to take into ac-count an increasing threshold for each child. First child, second child...

“Whether or not ye support it, there’s no point roaring about it from the get go. There are certain merits to the proposals and there should be a debate on it. I’m go-ing to get absolutely slated for it within and without FF, but I’m in favour of fees. Simple reason is our colleges are underfunded. They can’t compete. I’ve said this to my mother. My sister’s paying for her second level education, why should the government pay for her third level? It’s fairly split in Ógra.”

The rest of them are, unsur-prisingly, completely opposed. “It seems to be some sort of distrac-tion,” says Roantree. “If our universities are so underfunded then we need to raise taxes. The fair way to go about it is progres-sive taxation. It’s all research-based now. At the protest Michael D Higgins said that education is an aim in itself – we want to have a society that questions power. That’s not what education is going towards at the moment.”

“The presidents of the uni-versities are all in favour of fees,” protests Delargy. “Ex-actly,” says the Green partici-pant. “They think that education should be them leading their university in a league table. It shouldn’t be about that.”

“Education isn’t a commod-ity, it’s a basic right,” says Honer, believing the whole fuss to be a ruse aimed at importing the Aus-tralian system of grants. “We’re miles behind the Continent, the investment levels aren’t commen-surate to the amount of money the country is making. It’s an absolute farce. Middle class families never paid fees anyway, they set up covenant schemes in a tax loop-hole. Progressive taxation is the way forward. If we’re proposing a knowledge-based economy it shouldn’t be driven by a race to the bottom.”

“There is a chunk of this country where people do pay fees. People are going into courses and coming out with massive debts. It’s hard enough to get a house and a mortgage, let alone pay off this debt. It puts people off doing things. It wouldn’t be too hard for a lawyer or someone who’s being paid €150,000 a year, but for a nurse on €30,000 it’s going to be offputting for people who are nec-essary for society to run,” submits Ó Dubhláin.

To Michael Clancy, the cur-rent system undoubtedly helped to increase access to third level edu-cation. He says:“There are people sitting around this table today who wouldn’t have been able to go to college after coming out of second-level. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to put the money together. I want to go on to be a secondary school teacher. There is no chance in hell that if I had a debt over my head of 25 grand would I able to become a second-ary teacher.”

But there is an elephant in the room today: the chronic under-representation of women in stu-dent politics. “In politics the per-centage of women participating is

42 Party Animals

very low. In general it’s abysmal,” claims Honer. Not everyone around the table is as pessimistic. “There are more women coming in. I’m very optimistic – the single biggest breakthrough for women in politics has been the last two presidents. Two fine women who have done tremendous work,” of-fers Clancy.

Would a quota system im-prove matters? “Nah, you pick the best candidate no matter who they are,” says Delargy. “Female candidates were the most suc-cessful in 2004. That’s why FF is specifically looking for young and female candidates.” “I can see a female Taoiseach in our lifetime, definitely,” agrees Honer. “It’s the societal barriers that have to be lifted,” asserts Roantree. “The political system is very bruising, the time pressures don’t allow for having a family...”

“I don’t want to be regres-sive and get into old stereotypes,” hopes Clancy, “but a lot of women – many more than men – aspire to having a family and children and a good household and don’t see politics as affording that opportu-nity.”

In the resulting disagree-ment, the only thing for it is to move on to something even more controversial: Lisbon. “We didn’t take a position because there were people who went both ways,” says Roantree. “Personally I thought the campaign was a sham from all sides. It absolutely drove me insane listening to Cóir. I voted for it but there were good rea-sons to vote against. People don’t seem to have any regard for how Europe works, they think it’s a federal system. Europe is regarded as a force pushing things upon us when the government in ev-ery instance has okayed it. The

divide which has been building and building has finally come to fruition.”

Delargy, as the FF delegate, probably has to deal with the fallout more than the other parties. “The biggest problem was talking to people – I don’t blame them – who go through their lives with-out any interest in Europe. And so trying to explain the Lisbon Treaty when they didn’t know the basic parts of Europe were... the campaign wasn’t run as well as it could have been.”

“The Lisbon Treaty is a legal document. There’s a terminology there. If it was a French docu-ment it would be in the French language. Trying to explain that to the average punter in the street was an extremely difficult thing to do,” says Clancy. “And it wasn’t helped by the no side with blatant lies left, right and centre,” agrees Delargy.

Ó Dubhláin is very, very silent. In a way he can afford to be. He’s the only one around the table who campaigned against the treaty. The others gang up on him with guilt by association. “Libertas and Coir aren’t here,” he says. “But you were sitting there on the panels quite happily, best buddies,” responds Delargy. “That is absolute rubbish,” counters Ó Dubhláin. “There was a great level of debate among ordinary people…” “There was a pathetic level of debate”, interjects Clancy. Tempers begin to fray. “You had Libertas coming out and saying bad for business, Sinn Féin saying it’s bad for workers – it can’t be bad for everyone. Can something be bad for workers and business,” asks Delargy? “Climate change,” answers Roantree. “There’s your opening! Go! Go! Go!”

“Is the OFF member trying to

make the argument that society is at war between workers and busi-ness?” jibes Ó Dubhláin to wide-spread laughter. Boys oh boys. All this masks the point that the youth vote came out solidly against the treaty, and apart from vague talk of ‘disconnection’, blaming the format of the treaty and the truth-bending of the anti-treaty right, the yes side are still stuck for answers, let alone a roadmap forward.

As if we didn’t need more bickering, it’s time to bring up the issue of abortion. If this really is the next generation of party activ-ists then it’s something they’ll have to deal with: all agree that another abortion controversy is inevitable. Labour seems to be the only straightforward pro-choice party, with the Greens and SF ab-staining and FG and FF opposed. “Choice Ireland was founded out of a Labour Youth meeting. We would be pro-choice. It’s a wom-an’s right to choose,” says Honer.

Clancy responds instantly. “FG is against the implementa-tion of abortion in this country. Personally I’m against it. I’m not going to give you a spiel of bibli-cal references, I don’t go in for that, but I see it as a moral issue. It’s about the taking of life of an innocent person who has no say whatsoever. There are couples in this country who will never have the opportunity to have children and have to actively go abroad to look for children. It’s life, and you don’t choose to end a life out of inconvenience.”

Honer disagrees. “When is a life a life? From conception? 24 weeks? Independent living? It’s very hard to distinguish. Women shouldn’t have to go abroad. I think there should be a vote on it.”

Party Animals 43

Sadly Hot Press, despite its godlike ambitions and unques-tioned omnipotence in medicine and the sciences, doesn’t have the power to decide what is life and what is not.

“FF are strongly pro-life. It’s a really, really, really complicated issue. I can’t make my mind up on it,” says Delargy. “The courts have constantly called on the Oireachtas to legislate and they’ve ignored it. One way or another they’re going to have to start leg-islating. It shouldn’t be left up to the courts.

Clancy: “it’s inevitably going to come up again, and I would say it’s the most contentious issue on this island because it is so polaris-ing. The hatred that it brings up between people...”

“It’s a political nightmare for any government,” agrees Del-argy. In fact, everyone agrees that another campaign would be an unseemly affair. Delargy doesn’t think the electorate would vote for it. “If you look at how Lisbon went. Abortion? There’d be abso-lute mayhem.” Clancy agrees. “If we bring about the abortion issue we’re not going to have an open and fair debate on it.” Ó Dubhláin wants the debate anyway.

Once again, the absence of women around the table is a head-scratcher. The only thing that can be agreed on is that sex education is at caveman level.

Our state-of-the-parties dis-cussion is essentially an excuse for a slagging match, and it’s great fun to boot – though perhaps not as fun as the FF-FG paintball war that was mentioned. Honer slates Brian Cowen’s style of bal-ladry. “The Taoiseach has a great voice!” retorts Delargy. Roantree gets a sheet of paper and writes ‘Civil War’ in big, illegible letters

while Clancy and Delargy argue. The two civil warriors sit arms-folded when Roantree brings up his desire for a united left plat-form. “I’d love to see it happen”, says Honer. “Labour, Greens, Sinn Féin, likeminded left inde-pendents. It can happen. Leftwing co-operation has worked across Europe. It’s a viable possibility for the next election.”

Of Sinn Féin themselves, Ó Dubhláin says that “if there was no communication between the political wing of republicanism and the military wing then the peace process wouldn’t have hap-pened.”

Far less contentious is the issue of the US elections. Delargy has money on McCain to win, but hopes Obama will: “I couldn’t stand four more years [of a Re-publican government].” “If he starts flip-flopping on the issues like Kerry did he’s going to get destroyed. Opinion polls aren’t to be trusted. I know, I’m in La-bour,” jokes Honer.

In a way it’s a surprise to find a similar consensus on climate change. All those around the table are taking it very seriously, to the point that they’re not sure if enough can ever be enough. “I’m very pessimistic that we can actu-ally do anything in time because the shift is so seismic. I don’t think it’s going to happen. Ev-eryone needs to change their life style so much and the government can’t force that change on people. Sufficient change by sufficient people in sufficient time. That’s the massive element,” says Green Barra Roantree.

Coming to the end of our debate, it’s time to find out exactly how idealistic the next generation is: if they were Taoiseach for a day and could do only one thing,

what would it be? Ó Dubhláin immediately wants to nationalise land and banks, but we think he’s joking. He was also joking when he said he wouldn’t serve as Tao-iseach in a divided Ireland.

Immediately Honer would “implement a universal healthcare system free at the point of access for all citizens.” Roantree’s choice is less self-explanatory: “intro-duce basic income for all citizens. It’s like the dole every week to every person without exception, funded through resource taxes or progressive taxation. It means you don’t have a situation where they’re forced to work in dead-end jobs.”

The FG and FF proposals are much more measured. “I’d cut my holidays short and kick-start the national pay talks. Social partner-ship has been a key component of the Celtic Tiger whether you like it or not,” says Clancy. Delargy agrees. “I’d go in there and I’d sort them out. Actually, a Luas north line would be good.”

Finally, Ó Dubhláin revises his earlier comment: “put in place a progressive taxation system that would provide for all these ideas and more,” he says, pointing to the Labour and Green idealism.

Clancy interjects: “it sounds very nice, progressive taxation, but what does it actually mean?”

He knows exactly what it means. Another argument erupts, and we’re out of here. As colleges gear up for freshers’ week these guys will be roaming the cam-puses trying to convince people that political activism is more re-warding than spending one’s time with the Ultimate Frisbee crowd. That’s nothing compared to what they’ll be asking for next time you might encounter them: they’ll be looking for your vote.

44 Party Animals

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“With these new developments at Clane Hospital, we can now see patients very quickly – and we have all the equipment necessary.”

The loss of one of one’s five senses, for whatever the reason, is an unenviable

experience, and timely diagnosis and treatment are key. At Clane Hospital’s ophthalmology department, Mr Ayman Saeed leads treatment of eye disorders – and new technology and clinics have seen the hospital expand its offering in recent times.

“With these new developments at Clane Hospital, we can now see patients very quickly – and we have all the equipment necessary.

“There are two different types of macular degeneration: the dry form and the wet form,” he explains. “The wet form tends to cause loss of vision and usually it is a short while before the vision is lost. The dry form causes significant loss of vision. Now, with these new developments in Clane Hospital, we can diagnose and treat wet form macular degeneration in a timely and efficient manner.”

Saeed also provides treatment for patients who have diabetic macular edema. This happens at the back of the eye, and

causes significant loss of vision. He treats it with laser treatment and/or intra-ocular injections, and most treatments are now readily available at Clane Hospital.

have to wait to have treatments done. We cater for both insured and self-paying patients and we’re now providing affordable packages for self-paying patients. Also, there are ophthalmic clinics which can be booked through the hospital or through the secretary of the relevant consultant,” he says.

Saeed started ophthalmology in Ireland in 2001 and finished his training in 2010 via the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, the Mater Hospital, Galway University Hospital, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital and Waterford Regional Hospital. He completed a Fellowship in Medical Retina and Uveitis in the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin in 2010.

“I’ve found Clane Hospital very friendly; it’s a nice warm environment and the staff are very helpful,” he says. Parking is accessible, plentiful and free, the facilities are fully up-to-date and patients from Kildare, Dublin and the facility’s wide catchment area are in very safe hands at Clane Hospital’s advanced ophthalmology department.

Sight loss is a particularly worrying experience for anyone afflicted by it – but Clane Hospital’s

ophthalmology department is on hand to help.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

OPHTHALMOLOGY

Cataract surgery has been practised for several years at Clane, and state-of-the-art theatre facilities with the most recent equipment for treating cataract patients are in place. The hospital also provides services for the new generation of multi focal intra-ocular lenses.

One of the department’s biggest advantages is that Saeed is not the only consultant providing services for cataract patients at Clane Hospital. “Patients don’t

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LASER

The use of lasers in treating medical conditions is not a new idea, but

it’s taken time for it to become widely available and new developments are constantly coming onstream. Laser treatment is a specialty of Clane Hospital, where skin conditions – some dangerous, some cosmetic – can be treated with the care and friendliness for which the hospital is renowned, all with the latest technology to hand.

LASER THERAPY AT CLANEClane Hospital’s laser treatment is an important part of the hospital’s offering, and laser nurse

Breda Lund is a key member of the team.

“The most up-to-date medical technology is available at Clane, and its range of laser treatments is a key part of the hospital’s work.”

botox and fillers in our department.” For a variety of reasons – whether one’s confidence is affected, an accident has necessitated cosmetic surgery or simply to reverse the effects of aging – Clane Hospital and the team are here to help.

Lund is a registered general and paediatric nurse. She completed her theatre nursing course and undertook her laser training in the UK. She started working at Clane 16 years ago, a time when the hospital – and the technology available to it – were at much earlier stages of development. Fast forward a decade and a half and the hospital has grown enormously to serve a much greater population and offer a wider range of treatments. The most up-to-date medical technology is available at Clane, and its range of laser treatments is a key part of the hospital’s work.

As for the future, Breda Lund’s important work continues: whether fighting the dangers of skin cancer or offering cosmetic treatments that can mean so much to patients, Clane’s laser nurse is very much in demand.

According to Lund, all of these tasks are classed as minor surgery – but according to the Irish Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in Ireland today, with over 8,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Happily, they report that nine out of ten of these cases can be prevented, but laser therapy is among the weapons used in the fight against cancer. Thus, the excision of moles, pre-cancer or cancerous lesions is important work.

What kind of cases is she seeing nowadays? “There is an increase in malignant melanoma, so we often treat basal cell and grain of cell carcinoma. There’s also quite a bit of actinic keratosis and the treatment of regular moles.”

Laser treatment for cosmetic purposes is also in demand, such as the treatment of acne and pre-cancerous lesions. Clane offers photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the latter condition: troublesome cells and bacteria are targeted with light. “Dr. Condon has a huge interest in acne because he’s a dermatologist,” she explains. “We also perform cosmetic

Laser nurse Breda Lund is a key member of this team, and works closely with Dr Cal Condron and his dermatology team. “We practise general dermatology, the excision of lesions, and we analyse for skin cancers,” she explains. “We also treat acne.”

Laser Therapy at Clane 47

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Science in Progress FEATURE

THE CONSULTANT | 93

Hypertension FEATURE

Cutting the TENSIONIreland’s hypertension statistics are causing worry, but ideas on how to improve them abound, writes Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly.

Back in May, new figures were released which brought the problem of hypertension into sharp focus. The Behaviour and Attitudes Barometer survey, taking a

sample of 631 people over 35, found that only one in five of those with high blood pressure has it checked monthly, just short of a third “frequently or occasionally” forget to take their medication, and over half are not concerned that they have the condition. 19 per cent responded that they do indeed suffer from hypertension. Meanwhile, newspaper headlines referred to high blood pressure as an “epidemic”.

Encouragingly enough, the survey itself was the result of efforts to combat the condition – May 17th is now World Hypertension Day, an opportunity for interested parties to pull together and highlight the dangers. Nor was it all bad news: 86 per cent said they had a good understanding of the need to manage blood pressure, with four fifths responding that they had reduced blood pressure to normality. But for Prof. Eoin O’Brien, whose warning graced those headlines, it is now time to redouble efforts.

“A major part of the problem is that we know that in anybody 60 to 70 years of age, somewhere around 60 to 70 per cent will have high blood pressure. So I think we’re quite

justified in using the word epidemic,” he says. Prof. O’Brien is vice president of the Irish Heart Foundation and professor of cardiovascular pharmacology at the Conway Institute, UCD. He sees hypertension as an unwanted side effect of the laudable achievement of longevity: people are now living longer, but high blood pressure puts many at risk of stroke, heart attack, cognitive impairment and dementia.

The Nation’s HealthIn Europe, the rule of halves is said to apply, meaning that 50 per cent of people with high blood pressure don’t know that they have it, of those 50 per cent only half are on treatment, and

}In anybody 60 to 70 years of age, somewhere around 60 to 70 per cent will have high blood pressure, so I think we’re quite justified in using the word epidemic.”

12368 Recodrati Cobimed A4 ad 29/04/2010 17:12 Page 1

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48 Cutting the Tension

THE CONSULTANT | 95

Science in Progress FEATURE

THE CONSULTANT | 95

of those who are on treatment, only half of them achieve blood pressure control. “It’s a pretty dismal picture, but in Ireland the situation – we know this from the latest Slán figures – is that less than 30 per cent achieve blood pressure control, so we’re doing worse than the rest of Europe,” claims Prof. O’Brien.

The Slán report, collated in 2007, was a comprehensive survey of the nation’s health undertaken by ESRI researchers, and remains a major milestone in our understanding of the problem. Its authority was enhanced by physically examining over 1,200 respondents aged 45 and over. The team found that about six in ten of these had high blood pressure, with about six in ten of these not on medication, and about seven in ten failing to control their pressure below 140/90mmHg.

Inaccurate MeasurementsProf. O’Brien’s main source of frustration is that blood pressure is still not being measured correctly in Ireland. 24-hour monitoring is essential, because the standard test can be misleading. “If you think about it, it’s been rather short-sighted of us from a scientific point of view to rely on a snapshot taken at one point in the day when stress and all sorts of things might be operating,” says Prof. O’Brien. “When people go along to have their blood pressure measured in the doctor’s surgery, as many as 25 per cent of them will have an erroneously elevated blood pressure just in reaction to the circumstance of measurement.” This problem is known as white coat hypertension.

“The other problem with that technique is that it misses blood pressure elevation in a number of patients: it may be normal in as many as 20 per cent of the whole population when they’re in their doctor’s surgery, but if you did 24-hour blood pressure on them, you’d find it to be elevated,” he added.

ABPM – ambulatory blood pressure measurement, or the 24-hour method – is regarded as being expensive, especially compared to the once-off measurement. Essentially a small computer that the patient attaches to his or her belt, it provides a detailed chart of blood pressure in a patient’s own home or place of work at all times of day and night.

“It is a sophisticated piece of equipment and that expense has to be defrayed somewhere along the line,” sympathises Prof. O’Brien. “But on the other hand, if you prevent people who have white coat hypertension from going on treatment unnecessarily, you obviously save a lot of money. More importantly, if you identify those patients who have high blood pressure and are already at risk from a stroke or heart attack, then you can save a huge amount in preventing stroke, heart attack, cognitive impairment or dementia.”

Politicians and management are often more concerned with short-term results, which may explain the slow adaptation of ABPM in Ireland. Prof. O’Brien is adamant that if blood pressure can be controlled down to normal for the day and night, then Ireland’s stroke rate – currently standing around 10,000 per annum – would be halved.

One avenue that might yield an increased use of 24-hour monitoring is the pharmacy, many of which offer the service to customers who come in, have the device fitted, and return a day later for a print-out of their results. “It’s interesting that the American Medical Association has recently recognised the pharmacist as being the big untapped resource in the healthcare delivery system,” says Prof. O’Brien. “They give advice on everything from a bee sting to the side effects of the drugs that people are taking. The public relate very well to that sort of advice, and it may be that with pharmacists taking up the blood pressure cause, we may be able to reach directly to the patients through that channel. We’ve failed through the medical channel.”

One Problem, One PillAnother opportunity is to cater for the 80 per cent who would prefer to take fewer tablets. At present, patients who suffer from high blood pressure take an average of 4.19 tablets daily, though 51 per cent responded that they had another medical treatment that required medication. A polypill may provide some improvement: Ireland is a participant in human trials of the Red Heart Pill, along with England, The Netherlands and India. Helpfully known as UMPIRE – use of a multidrug pill in reducing cardiovascular events – the trial is specifically examining whether the combined drug will help patients to stick with their medication. This differs from, say, India, where researchers are looking at how to make treatment available to those on low incomes.

Hypertension FEATURE

}If you think about it, it’s been rather short-sighted of us from a scientific point of view to rely on a snapshot taken at one point in the day.”

PICTURED: Prof. Eoin O’Brien

Remicade®: What can you achieve?

IV Remicade has demonstrated biologic-free remission in RA1,2

Only IV Remicade can achieve drug-free remission without further progression in joint damage1

IV Remicade gives a rapid and sustained reduction in CRP, with corresponding prevention of joint damage3

REMICADE 100MG POWDER FOR CONCENTRATE FOR SOLUTION FOR INFUSION. (infliximab) ABBREVIATED PRESCRIBING INFORMATION

Uses: Remicade (infliximab) is a chimeric human-murine IgG1 monoclonal antibody produced by recombinant DNA technology. Each vial contains 100mg of infliximab. Upon reconstitution each ml contains

signs and symptoms as well as the improvement in physical function in adult patients with active rheumatoid arthritis in combination with methotrexate, when the response to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including methotrexate, has been inadequate; and in adult patients with severe, active and progressive disease not previously treated with methotrexate and other DMARDs. In these patient populations, a reduction in the rate of the progression of joint

Treatment of severe, active Adult Crohn’s disease in adult patients who have not responded to or are intolerant of a full and adequate course of therapy with a corticosteroid and/or an immunosuppressant; and fistulising active Crohn’s disease in adult patients who have not responded despite a full and adequate course of therapy with conventional treatment (including antibiotics, drainage and immunosuppressive

patients aged 6 to 17 years who have not responded to conventional therapy including a corticosteroid, an immunomodulator and primary nutrition therapy; or who are

Treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adult patients who have had an inadequate response to

AZA, or who are intolerant to or have medical contraindications

spondylitis, in adult patients who have responded inadequately

progressive psoriatic arthritis, in adult patients when the response to previous DMARD drug therapy has been inadequate. Administration should be in combination with methotrexate or alone in patients who show intolerance to methotrexate or for whom methotrexate is contraindicated. A reduction in the rate of progression of peripheral joint damage in patients with polyarticular symmetrical subtypes of psoriatic

to severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients who failed to respond to, or who have a contraindication to, or are intolerant to other systemic therapy including cyclosporine, methotrexate

Dosage: Remicade should be administered intravenously, initiated and supervised by qualified physicians experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid

psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis. The recommended infusion time is described under each indication. All patients administered Remicade are to be observed for at least 1 to 2 hours post infusion for acute infusion-related reactions by qualified healthcare professionals trained to detect any infusion related

Not previously treated with Remicadeintravenous infusion over a 2 hour period followed by additional

tolerating 3 initial 2-hour infusions may be considered for subsequent infusions over a period of not less than 1 hour.

Remicade must be given concomitantly with methotrexate. If

treatment, a step-wise dose increase by approximately 1.5 mg/

response after 2 doses, no additional treatment should be given. Available data do not support further infliximab

initial infusion. Responding patients may receive additional

if signs and symptoms of the disease recur.

doses, no additional treatment should be given. Responding

readministration if signs and symptoms recur followed by

given as an intravenous infusion over a 2-hour period followed

therapy should be carefully reconsidered in patients who show no evidence of therapeutic benefit within this time period.

doses), no additional treatment with infliximab should be given.

thereafter.

given. Remicade can be readministered within

hypersensitivity reactions have been uncommon and have occurred after Remicade-free intervals of less than 1 year. The safety and efficacy of re-administration after a Remicade-free

applies to both Crohn’s disease patients and rheumatoid arthritis patients. The safety and efficacy of re-administration

administration with one single Remicade dose in psoriasis

and a higher incidence of mild to moderate infusion reactions when compared to the initial induction regimen. Limited experience of retreatment, using a reinduction regimen suggests a higher incidence of infusion reactions, some serious,

maintenance therapy is interrupted in any indication, and there is a need to restart treatment. Remicade should be reinitated as a single dose followed by the maintenance dose recommendations. Elderly patients (> 65 years). Specific studies have not been conducted. No major age related differences were observed in clinical trials. No dose adjustment is required. Paediatric population. Crohn’s disease (6 to 17

Some patients may require a shorter dosing interval to maintain clinical benefit, while for others a longer dosing interval may be sufficient. Available data do not support further infliximab treatment in paediatric patients not responding within the first

Contra-indications:tuberculosis or other severe infection such as sepsis, abscesses and opportunistic infections; patients with a history of hypersensitivity to infliximab, other murine proteins or any of the excipients; patients with moderate or severe heart failure

Precautions and Warnings: Acute infusion reactions including anaphylactic reactions may develop during (within seconds) or within a few hours following infusion. If acute infusion reactions occur, the infusion must be interrupted immediately. Emergency equipment, such as adrenaline, antihistamines, corticosteroids and an artificial

an antihistamine, hydrocortisone and/or paracetamol to prevent mild and transient effects. Antibodies to infliximab may develop and have been associated with increased frequency of infusion reactions. A low proportion of the infusion reactions was serious allergic reactions. Symptomatic treatment should be given and further Remicade infusions must not be administered. In clinical studies, delayed hypersensitivity reactions have been

hypersensitivity with increasing Remicade-free intervals. If patients are re treated after a prolonged period, they should be closely monitored for signs and symptoms of delayed

infection, including tuberculosis before, during and up to 6 months after treatment with Remicade. Exercise caution with use of Remicade in patients with chronic infection or a history of recurrent infection, including use of concomitant

that host defence against infection is compromised in some patients treated with infliximab. Suppression of TNFsymptoms of infection such as fever. Tuberculosis, bacterial infections including sepsis and pneumonia, invasive fungal infections and other opportunistic infections, have been observed, some of which have been fatal. Infections were reported more frequently in paediatric populations than in adult populations. For patients travelling or residing in regions where

treatment should be carefully considered. There have been reports of active tuberculosis in patients receiving Remicade. It should be noted that in the majority of these reports tuberculosis was extrapulmonary, presenting as either local or disseminated

tuberculosis before Remicade treatment. All such tests should

product. If active tuberculosis is diagnosed, patients must not be treated with Remicade. If latent tuberculosis is diagnosed, treatment with anti-tuberculosis therapy must be initiated before initiation of Remicade. Anti-tuberculosis therapy should

fators for tuberculosis and have a negative test for latent tuberculosis, and patients with a past history of latent or active tuberculosis in whom an adequate course of treatment cannot

suppurative fistulas must not initiate Remicade therapy until possible source of infection is excluded. Reactivation of hepatitis B occurred in patients receiving Remicade who are chronic carriers. Some cases have had fatal outcome. Such carriers should be appropriately evaluated and monitored prior to the initiation of and during treatment with Remicade. In post-

infectious hepatitis, some with features of autoimmune hepatitis have been observed. Isolated cases of liver failure resulting in liver transplantation or death have occurred.

evaluated for evidence of liver injury. If jaundice and/or ALT elevations 5 times the upper limit of normal develop(s), Remicade should be discontinued. Concurrent administration of etanercept (TNFis not recommended. It is recommended that live vaccines not be given concurrently. Anti-TNF therapy may result in the initiation of an autoimmune process. If a patient develops

treatment with Remicade and is positive for antibodies against double-stranded DNA, treatment must be discontinued. Infliximab and other agents that inhibit TNF have been associated in rare cases with optic neuritis, seizure and new onset of exacerbation of clinical symptoms and/or radiographic evidence of peripheral and central nervous system demyelinating disorders, including Guillain-Barrés syndrome and multiple sclerosis. In patients with pre-existing or recent

Remicade treatment should be carefully considered before initiation of Remicade therapy. Caution is advised when considering Remicade treatment in patients with history of malignancy or when considering continuing treatment in patients who develop a malignancy, additional caution should

cell lymphoma have been reported which is usually fatal. All Remicade cases have occurred in patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis treated concomitantly with, or immediately

should be carefully considered. Caution should be exercised in patients with psoriasis and a medical history of extensive

prior history of dysplasia or colon carcinoma should be screened for dysplasia before therapy and at regular intervals throughout their disease course. Evaluation should include colonoscopy and

development in patients with newly diagnosed dysplasia

to individual patients must be carefully reviewed and consideration should be given to discontinuation of therapy. Remicade should be used with caution in patients with mild heart failure (NYHA class I/II) and discontinued in face of

whilst on Remicade therapy should be closely monitored for infections. Crohn’s disease treatment failure may indicate presence of a fixed fibrotic stricture that may require surgical treatment. Pregnancy and Lactation: Administration of Remicade is not recommended during pregnancy or breast-feeding. Women of childbearing potential should use adequate contraception and continue its use for at least 6 months after the last Remicade treatment. Effects of infliximab on fertility and

Interactions: In rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease patients concomitant use of methotrexate and other immunomodulators may reduce the formation of antibodies to infliximab and increase the plasma concentrations of infliximab. Results are uncertain due to limitations in the methods used for serum analyses of infliximab and antibodies towards infliximab.

infliximab to a clinically relevant extent. It is recommended that live vaccines not be given concurrently with Remicade. Side-effects: In clinical studies with infliximab, commonly viral

dizziness, flushing, upper and lower respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, dyspnoea, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea, dyspepsia, transaminases increased, urticaria, rash, pruritus,

fatigue and fever were reported. Infusion related effects occurred in approximately 20% of patients and were the main

reporting, infections are the most common serious adverse event. The most frequently reported opportunistic infections with a mortality rate of 55% include pneumocytosis, candidiasis, listeriosis and aspergillosis. Other less common and

Overdose: No case of overdose has been reported. Single doses up to 20mg/

Package Quantities: Type I vials, with rubber stoppers and aluminium crimps protected by plastic caps, containing a lyophilised powder (infliximab 100mg). NHS Price: Basic GMS Price: Legal Category:Marketing Authorisation Number:

Date of Revision:

References:1.

13–16. Barcelona, Spain. THU0215.2.

Scientific Meeting, 10–15 November 2006, Washington

3. Quinn MA Arthritis Rheum 2005;52:27–35.

Date of preparation: February 2010

IFX/10-076

Please refer to the full SPC text before prescribing this product. Adverse events should be reported. Reporting forms and information can be found at www.yellowcard.gov.uk (UK) and www.imb.ie (Ireland). Adverse events with this product should also be reported to Schering-Plough Drug Safety Department on +44 (0)1707 363773


Cutting the Tension 49

96 | THE CONSULTANT

FEATURE Science in Progress

Prof. Alice Stanton, associate professor in molecular and cellular therapeutics at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, is championing the drug in Ireland. “The key thing is to get blood pressure down and if a patient needs to be on drugs, we need to make sure that we provide them in a way that they actually take them,” she says.

Two versions of the polypill will be trialled. Both have three agents in common: aspirin, a statin called simvastatin, and the ACE inhibitor lisinopril. Version one has a beta blocker called atenolol, and will mostly be given to those who have already had a heart attack. Patients with high blood pressure, or who have had a stroke, will most likely be given version two, containing the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

All analyses and reports are scheduled for completion by the end of 2013, after which Irish and European approval will be sought “if the results are positive – and we wouldn’t be doing this study if we didn’t anticipate that there’s a very good likelihood.” 333 patients are being recruited in Dublin, with the same number sought in London and Utrecht.

Not only will fewer pills encourage patients to take their medication, the lower cost of the polypill should also provide a boost. Prof. Stanton predicts a price of around 20 per month in the developed world, comparing to the current figure of 50, which rises to around the 100 mark for those prescribed with proprietary products. If made available in the developing world, the cost is predicted to be around 2 per month.

“Even if the patient is not paying for it and the country’s taxes are, I think all of us would like to see savings on drug budgets where possible,” says Prof. Stanton. Viewing the project as a “step forward”, she expects that, in time, further polypills will cater for the 30 per cent of those who require blood pressure lowering agents but fall outside the scope of the current project.

The Barometer survey offers other clues about how to increase compliance, or a patient’s adherence to their medication regime – “a huge problem”, according to Prof. Stanton, particularly in patients who are feeling well. If 32 per cent sometimes forget to take their medication, then it stands to reason that they might want help in remembering. Step forward dontforget.ie, where patients can register for reminder text messages, which arrive on the patient’s phone at the appointed time.

Online InnovationsEntering the second decade of the 21st century, it seems to disappoint medical professionals that the level of awareness is so low, and many campaigners are still at the stage of trying to attract attention to the issue before they get to treat people.

World Hypertension Day seems to be a step forward in this respect: now in its sixth year since its foundation by the World Hypertension League – itself a division of the International Society of Hypertension, and with links to the WHO. This year’s theme was ‘Healthy Weight – Healthy Blood Pressure’.

In Ireland, the occasion was marked with the launch of an awareness campaign, funded by pharmaceutical company Novartis and with speeches from television presenter Dr Mark Hamilton and Dr Angie Brown of the Irish Heart Foundation, who described unchecked blood pressure as a “ticking timebomb”. Bloodpressure.ie has been launched, which combines the serious with the practical: simple, healthy recipes which may help patients reduce cholesterol.

To Prof. O’Brien, another area worthy of exploration was suggested by trials in Beaumont Hospital some years back, linking primary care physicians around the hospital with the blood pressure unit, using the same protocol from management, with every participant singing from the same hymn sheet. The resulting report has been forgotten, he says. Nor does progress in computerising the health service, particularly to monitor chronic diseases, meet his standards.

As for the future, the high-profile increase in obesity rates – another epidemic in the making – will make control of high blood pressure even more difficult, and more of a priority. “I would like to think that we will see a reduction, but we’ll only do it if we become innovative,” says O’Brien. Innovative ideas are indeed on the table, but their impact remains to be felt.

Doctors or patients interested in participating in the UMPIRE polypill trial may contact the project at [email protected] or on (01) 809 2862.

96 | THE CONSULTANT

FEATURE Hypertension

}If a patient needs to be on drugs, we need to make sure that we provide them in a way that they actually take them.”

PICTURED: Prof. Alice Stanton

Presentation: Eligard® 7.5mg, powder and solvent for solution for injection. Eligard® 22.5mg powder and solvent for solution for injection. Eligard® 45mg, powder and solvent for solution for injection. Composition:After reconstitution of the powder with the solvent, the deliverable amount is 7.5mg, 22.5mg and 45mg leuprorelin acetate respectively. Indication: Treatment of hormone dependant advanced prostate cancer. Posology: Eligard® 7.5mg administered every month subcutaneously. Eligard® 22.5mg administered every three months administered subcutaneously. Eligard® 45mg administered every six months administered subcutaneously. Contraindications: Hypersensitivity to leuprorelin acetate, other GnRH agonist or to any of the excipients. Patients who previously underwent orchiectomy (Eligard® does not result in further decrease of serum testosterone in case of surgical castration). As sole treatment in prostate cancer patients with spinal cord compression or evidence of spinal metastases. Women and paediatric patients. Warnings and Precautions:to a transient worsening of symptoms (additional administration of an antiandrogen beginning 3 days prior to Eligard®

®. Decreased bone density has been reported in men who have had orchiectomy or who have been treated with GnRH agonist. As in some patients changes in glucose tolerance have been reported, diabetic patients should be monitored more frequently. Undesirable effects: Adverse reactions seen with Eligard®

Legal Category: Prescription only medicine. Product authorisation number: Eligard® 7.5 mg PA 1241/3/1, Eligard® 22.5 mg PA1241/3/2, Eligard® 45mg PA 1241/3/3. PA Holder ®

of product characteristics with full prescribing information is available upon request. For further information phone 01 467 1555. References: 1. Chu FM et al. J Urol 2002; 168: 1199–1203. 2. Perez-Marreno R et al. Clin Ther 2002; 24: 1902–1914. 3. Crawford ED et al. J Urol 2006; 175: 533–536. 4. Heidenreich A et al.

Date of preparation:

Abbreviated Product Information

leuprorelin acetate

96% PSA normalisation <4ng/dl5


50 Cutting the Tension

Ruraidh Conlon O'Reilly - Extended Portfolio 2013

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