Hello from the Features Desk. Hasn’t this been quite the week? So many stories you couldn’t look away from. Epochal events in the Middle East, where Israel stunned Hizbullah and Lebanon with pager and walkie talkie attacks. The fallout from a second attempt to assassinate Donald Trump continued to rock US politics. On the domestic front, the latest Irish Times opinion poll saw personal approval ratings for Taoiseach Simon Harris soar while leader of the Opposition Mary Lou McDonald’s declined sharply. All this in the week that witnessed the mind-bending combination of the Ploughing Championships taking place in a balmy Ratheniska, Co Laois, while Fianna Fail hunkered down in the refined surroundings of Killiney, south Co Dublin for its annual think-in.
I hope you find something of interest in my personal selection of stories from this week.
1. The week began with a scary story about a south Dublin creche. Social Affairs Correspondent Kitty Holland reported that a staff member had highlighted concerns about the behaviour of two other staff. The concerns related to alleged slapping of children’s heads; hitting children’s legs; forcing children roughly into high-chairs, force-feeding a child with sensory issues until they vomited; repeatedly calling one child “fatty”; wiping children’s noses forcefully to the point they fell backwards and hurt their heads; getting children to call other children “arsehole”; speaking in disparaging terms about parents in front of their children; and being generally “cold” with the children.
2. We learned on Tuesday about weird and far-from wonderful behaviour of motorists on our roads. “In rush hour, you’ll see people in traffic watching matches on their tablets or laptops, people eating breakfast cereal, putting on their make-up, shaving,” a Garda Inspector told Security and Crime Editor Conor Lally. In an idea borrowed from Belgian police, members of the Dublin Roads Policing Unit are now using unmarked trucks to peer into vehicles to catch offenders. It started off as a Dublin-based initiative, but the truck patrols have already extended into parts of Kildare and Louth is next.
What I Read This Week: A vital read on the origins of the Troubles and Boris Johnson’s memoir flop
What I Read This Week: Adventures in Airbnb, more closed restaurants, and one unlucky goose
What I Read This Week: A bizarre Dublin conference and the human cost of war
What I Read This Week: An explosive story in Poland and a surprise budget grenade
3. The challenges of moving across the world and starting a new life in Ireland are regularly documented in the weekly New to the Parish column, which appears in print on Wednesday. High rents and the escalating cost of living are frequently cited as among the factors which make attempting to gain a foothold in Irish society exceptionally difficult. But in this piece Deirdre Falvey captures Wilson Silva’s humour and positive attitude, as the Brazilian explains how his life was upended as he dealt with house-sharing, learning to express himself in a new language and studying again. But his glass-half-full view of this place, despite “some complicated situations in city centre in Dublin, in Ireland”, is refreshing. And his anecdote bout getting the words for condom and adhesive tape mixed up should make you smile.
4. I laughed out loud on Thursday at this Patrick Freyne column. It’s a fantastic free-wheeling and absurdist look at The Grand Tour: One for the Road, starring James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson, now on Prime Video. The trio previously fronted Top Gear on the BBC where, as Freyne notes, they frequently tiptoed up to the edge of what was permissible at Britain’s national broadcaster. We probably all know how things ended, but you’ve never heard it told like this before. “Then, in 2015, Clarkson went too far, because he hit an Irishman for refusing to bring him hot meats. Older Britons may not know this, but by 2015 it was no longer permissible to hit an Irishman, even if he had brought you the wrong dinner.” I recommend you listen to the audio version of this column on the Irish Times app (just press the headphones icon at the top of your screen) for three minutes and 44 seconds of pure joy. The dispassionate rendition just makes it funnier, somehow.
5. Northern Correspondent Seanín Graham’s dispatch from Botanic Avenue in Belfast beautifully captures the giddy, hopeful atmosphere of Fresher’s week. The interesting twist to this story is that a growing number of young people from the Republic are opting to study in the North. The cheaper cost of living is among the draws, although the students also point to other factors you might not have thought of. Seanín caught up with students from all over - Kildare, Mayo and even Youghal, Co Cork, a town I know well, and a good eight-hour public transport trip from Belfast on a good day. Best of luck to the students as they knock lots of fun out of their first year. They’ll find us Nordies aren’t so bad!
ICYMI
Speaking of Northerners, the peaks and troughs, and all-too-frequent falling at the final hurdle, of golfer Rory McIlroy’s game make for tough viewing. So did the topless American caddies, sports writer Mary Hannigan wrote on Monday. Her graphic description has been on my mind all week: “that moment when two of their caddies ripped off their shirts, played bongos on their tummies and Riverdanced on the fairway after Megan Khang’s eagle in the Solheim Cup on Saturday”.
Podcast of the Week
Lots of people are talking about election fever. I can’t say I have it, do you? But within the confines of the Leinster House compound they speak of little else. Their jobs depend on it, after all. In a former life I was severely bitten by the politics bug and although I’m in recovery and doing well, I remain a loyal listener to The Irish Times Inside Politics Podcast. For informative nuggets and jolly banter between Political Editor Pat Leahy and presenter Hugh Linehan about the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll, where else would you go?
Fine Gael has the momentum as Sinn Féin's slide continues - poll
Best of the rest
A big investigation by the BBC this week revealed five women say they were raped by former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed when they worked at the luxury London department store. The BBC has heard testimony from more than 20 female ex-employees who say the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, sexually assaulted or raped them. Harrods’ current owners said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that his victims had been failed - for which the store sincerely apologised.
Most Read:
1.‘This is a very posh prison’: Living in a nursing home since the age of 46
2. South Dublin creche worker accused of hitting toddler as colleague ‘laughed and joked’
4. City centre sanctuary: No upgrades needed at architect’s renovated redbrick cottage for €435,000
5. Updated terraced home with fresh, airy interior for €550,000
The week ahead
One good news story this week which caught the public imagination was Ireland rugby international Bundee Aki appearing as one of 3,600 people who became Irish citizens on Monday in ceremonies taking place at the Convention Centre in Dublin. The Ireland and Connacht centre, who lives in Co Galway, said it was “a privilege” to become a citizen of Ireland. Our reporters have covered lots of these ceremonies, capturing the emotion of the citizens and their families. Anyone who has attended one of these events can testify to how special they are. We intended to go back to some of the people we interviewed before and ask them to reflect on what being a citizen means to them.
