Tarawatch have just started a new online petition and are looking for one million signatures to help save the Hill of Tara. The petition will be submitted to the UN Headquarters in New York City.
An exceptionally worthwhile cause so if you do nothing else after arriving here please spend a minute signing, and help reach that target!
Enter your name and where you live (this gives it validity), and optionally add your thoughts.
This is what i wrote:
‘Your Personal Comment’
The relevance of the Hill of Tara shouldn’t need to be justified – it is simply one of Irelands most ancient and important heritage sites. Sweeping it away is something the neanderthals might have done, surely we are more sophisticated in our thinking this day and age.
‘Why you think it is the responsibility of the UN to protect the Hill of Tara?’
The UN can stand back from what is currently happening and look at it more objectively. They can bring better vision and foresight, and can point out to Ireland the importance and value of protecting Ireland’s heritage.
There’s a click box if you want to receive ‘Care2 Action Alerts’ – I turned it off.
and an option to ‘Spread the word’ where you can tell 5 of your email contacts about the issue.
Tarawatch are at the forefront of the fight to save the Hill of Tara, and they need support from the Irish and Irish descent around the world. If this is new to you you can get the story here.
If you’re anywhere near Ballydehob from the 7th to 17th August get on your hat and come down town! You can be good, you can be bad, and if you’re ugly that’s even better!
Yep it’s that time again – it’s the Ballydehob Wild West Summer Festival !
Fun and frolics, live music, dancing, trad boats, sport, crazy races, cowboys and indians, fireworks, talent competitions, healthy walks! and loads of other stuff.
The sherrif is friendly, the cowboys are cool, and the indians – well they just hang around smokin cheroots and smiling at everyone!
Since then a new group has started at Ning.com, and if you feel a fresh look at the present restrictions is a good idea you can get involved at Irish diaspora for Irish citizenship (you’ll need to join Ning – it’s pretty straight forward).
Maybe also leave a comment here, and if there’s enough momentum i’ll create a mechanism on diaspora.ie where people can register their support for a review of the legislation.
Saint John New Brunswick was the first port of call for many of the Irish who emigrated to Canada, and in 1871 the city was recorded as being 54.1% Irish!
Emigration to the area dates back to the early 1800s and was due in part to promotion by the British Press, the Great Hunger, and because of ‘word of mouth’ from Irish emigrants who’d already settled there. Changes to the Passenger Act in 1827 also meant cheaper fares, and Canada’s busy timber trade with Britain provided the transport that stopped in Irish ports on their return journeys across the Atlantic.
Over the years the Irish spread outwards, and these days Irish communities can be found in all parts of the province. In 2001 the Canadian census recorded that those of Irish ancestry made up nearly 19%, or close to 136,000, of New Brunswicks population.
The Irish Canadian Cultural Association of New Brunswick celebrates the presence of Irish culture and history in the province, and is dedicated to the thousands of Irish emigrants who have made New Brunswick their home. The association provides province-wide coverage of Irish-related topics and issues, and is well organised with seven chapters each having its own Executive Committee and membership.
You can find plenty of interesting information at their website, and their facts and trivia page for example tells the story of how Irish immigration has contributed to the growth and culture of New Brunswick as a whole.
Hats off to the association, and all credit due to the enthusiasm and commitment of the people who have kept their celebration of Irish heritage so intact.
Additional references:
Early emigration to Canada wasn’t easy, and The Irish Story at new-brunswick.net gives you an idea of the difficult times the Irish faced when making the passage to their new home.
Here come the girls… and this year there’s 50 of the lovely ladies.
The Rose of Tralee is celebrating its 50th birthday and this year 50 girls will be in the competition to mark the occasion. The festival runs from 21st to the 26th August and starts with the International Rose Ball, parades and musical entertainment, and the final itself takes place on the Tuesday and Wednesday.
The contestants are judged on their overall personality and suitability as ambassadors, and the festival is a celebration of the “aspirations, ambitions, intellect, social responsibility and Irish heritage” of modern young women.
The event is very diasporic with Rose Centres around the world, and anyone can enter if they are Irish descent. Alice O’Sullivan won the rose in 1959 but its origins go back to the early 1800s and the story of Mary O’Connor.
Things have changed and these days the girls really are modern. How modern? well Facebook modern to start with. Amy Moran from Cork, for example, is giving you the chance to get to know her well before she steps foot on the stage in Kerry. You should pop over and say hello!
The Rose of Tralee is distinctly Irish and unique in its style. You would’nt be thinking about it much during the year but it’s great fun when it happens.
Wishing ye all the best of luck (especially Amy, ah well just a bit biased!) and sure you’ll have a great time and a night to remember!
RTÉ use Windows Media Player or Real Player to play streaming radio, and if you have any problems or need to know more there’s plenty of information at their help page.
They also have a Radio Gadget you can use if you’re running Windows Vista or Windows 7. You’ll need to make sure you have the Microsoft Silverlight browser plugin installed before you download and activate the RTE gadget – details here.
Gaelic variation:
Ó Murchadha, Ó Murchú, Mac Murchaidh: “sea warrior” or “strong or superior”.
Anglicised variations:
O’Murchoe, Murphy.
Although Murphy is the most numerous name in Ireland today (and interestingly the 59th most popular surname in the US), not all Murphys share the same ancestry. There were several significant Murphy septs in each of the four Irish provinces, Munster, Ulster, Leinster and Connacht.
Munster Murphys are the largest group, and can trace their origins to the Múscraighe tribe who inhabited the large area of western Cork, later to be known as the barony of Muskerry.
Ulster Murphys can claim a line back to Niall of the Nine Hostages, the 5th century High King best known for bringing Saint Patrick to Ireland as a slave in 432.
Leinster Murphys are descended from a long line of provincial kings and chieftains, and can claim a line back to the ancient tribe of the Laighin, who gave the province its name.
Connacht Murphys are less common and have been referred to as “of a family of the Uí Fiachrach who were chiefs of a district on the southern shore of Sligo Bay, now comprised of the parishes of Skreen and Templeboy but were dispossessed and dispersed in the 13th century.”
It’s a rough guess, but there are possibly one million Murphy’s around the world. If you’re one of them you should join the diaspora and we’ll see if we can find ye all!
You can read more about the Murphy name at Dennis Murphys website and, when it’s back off vacation! there should hopefully be some intereting stuff at the Murphy Clan website as well.
It was 1752, he was 27 years old, and his godfather left him the money in his will. A man with foresight, or at least willing to take a risk, three years later he was running his own brewery making ale in Leixlip. Arthur must have been thinking big even then, and it wasn’t long before he headed for Dublin and agreed a 9,000 year lease on a four acre site – the year was 1759 and Guinness as a brewer of porter was founded.
Arthur Guinness
By 1767 he was the master of the Dublin Corporation of Brewers and managed to expand his operations extensively during 1797–99. The brewery was producing more than 20,000 barrels a year when he died in 1803.
As a man he was highly respected for his actions to improve the lives of people in communities where Guinness did business. This philosophy carried through after his death, and in 1876 Guinness was one of the first businesses in Ireland to provide proper pensions and healthcare for its employees and their families. Guinness the brewery and Guinness the family continued this generosity over the years, and have given land for recreational areas, financial support to education initiatives, and funding for low income housing in parts of Dublin.
It’s Guinness’s 250th birthday this year and the 24th of September is to be known as Arthur’s Day. An impressive line-up of events are planned and leading musical artists will be performing in celebrations around the world, and at 17:59 on that day we’re invited to raise a glass of Guinness to toast the man himself.
Here’s a taster…
Guinness really is one of Irelands greatest exports and enjoyed by the Irish and non-Irish alike, I wonder if he knew something when he signed that lease, imagine the celebrations in 2659!
There’s something about the Hill of Tara that instinctively makes you feel it’s at the core of Irelands heritage, that it’s part of the spirit of Ireland, and that somehow it links us all through its ancient history.
Maybe it’s what we don’t know, or possibly it’s to do with age and mythology, but whatever it is there is an inner sense that tells us we should be looking after it.
Hill of Tara contains a number of ancient monuments, and, according to tradition, was the seat of Árd Rí na hÉireann, or the High King of Ireland. It’s also thought it was the political and spiritual capital of Ireland from the time of the first Celtic influence until the 1169 invasion of Richard de Clare. The complete story of the wider area around Hill of Tara remains untold, and there is still a lot to be learnt.
TaraWatch has submitted a complaint to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, seeking intervention by the UN. Maybe there’s hope that further destruction can be averted and the basis for the intervention is explained in detail at the TaraWatch website.
In truth, the rerouting of a planned motorway shouldn’t be beyond the capability of man, and any minister of government who puts aside the them and us mentality and makes this decision would surely have the ‘feel good factor’ in the long run. I know I wouldn’t want to be questioning what i’d done in the calmer light of day – and hardly a good epitaph!
We should collectively cherish the Hill of Tara as one of the great symbols of our history, be proud of what it represents, preserve it unspoilt for tourists and those of Irish heritage to enjoy, and protect it for the benefit of future generations.
Time to put the tiger on a diet!
SAVE TARA – Sign the Petition to Unesco.
(The iPetitions donation is voluntary – your signature and comment will be recorded regardless.)
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