Tinteán

Modern Ireland (1)

Two young boys aged 14, were found guilty of the murder of a girl a year older than them. The murder took place in County Dublin in May last year, when all were one year younger. The dead girl had been adopted from Russia as a two-year old and was living in a settled and happy family. There is little good in the story, but if you are interested, you will find a complete account at https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/criminal-court/ana-kri%C3%A9gel-murder-trial-the-complete-story-1.3929570. The care and professionalism of the gardai in dealing with the case is particularly praiseworthy.

Modern Ireland (2)

The phrase used is ‘compo culture’, the idea that there is money to be made from insurance companies if you persuade a court that some individual or some company was negligent. Generally, insurance companies don’t questions claims, but settle out of court, but in recent times they have become less pliant. Rear-end car collisions involving friends or family members are an example, and no doubt there are other schemes.

But insurance companies and the courts are getting wise. Recent failed cases include a person who dropped some liquid on the ground and then slipped on it, claiming for injuries; and a woman in a restaurant who took some shards of glass in her mouth before eating and then claimed there was glass in the food. In  both cases, there was some video evidence that seemed to suggest  what had happened. Supermarkets seem to be a favoured target.

The people suffering most, apart from those whose injuries were genuine, are the small businesses who find that their insurance premiums have increased by multiples of times. On the positive side, the legal profession are doing well out of it.

Philomena Lynott

She may be best remembered as the mother of Phil Lynott, the frontman for Thin Lizzy who died in 1986 at the age of 36, but there was much more to Philomena Lynott. In a review of her 2011 book titled My Boy, the reviewer wrote,

Philomena Lynott from Crumlin is clearly an extraordinary woman. At a time when an innocent child could be treated differently for being “illegitimate” and when a romance that crossed colour lines was the butt of racist jibes as much from the lace curtain pious as from the street ignorant, she brought three babies into the world and survived to be loved by them. She also made a career as a successful businesswoman and even allowing for the part her ghost writer played, she is an excellent writer.

Rest in Peace.

Problems of Kerry Football

In his 2015 book Dub Sub Confidential, John Leonard opens the door to some of the behind-the-scenes events that led to the current success of the Dublin football team. In this year’s championship, they will be trying for the magic five-in-a-row, a feat never before achieved.

One of the teams trying to stop them will be Kerry. Just imagine how they would wish to have young Mark O’Connor from Dingle in their team. Unfortunately, he is making his name and his living with the Geelong Cats in the AFL. Just how spectacular he can be and how useful he would be to his native county is seen in  https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/geelong-grind-out-win-over-brave-crows-20190628-p522fx.html 

We recommend you check it out.