Up she flew & the cat flattened 'er.

Like a human ferret. A green blur of gnashing teeth and ginger hair. Arms flailing, hat trailing in the wind. Woe betide the divil who would upset the pot o' gold, there's only so much rain the spirits can put up with in the wait for the right rainbow. 'If ya wanna see the rainbow ya gotta' put up with the rain.' Sure what would Dolly Parton know about putting up with the rain, a grand sound byte from the hills of California, or Nashville, or wherever in the blue feck she lays her jabs of an evening. The real danger lies in the leper's corn, 'tis far from the cob they were reared.

A native to the grassier parts of Ireland, (anywhere beyond the pale really), these midgetesque creatures are thought to be reasonably placid, (easily placated by the swig from the uisce bheatha) and fiercely loyal. Often confused with the travelling people, but the two are easy to tell apart, given how the leprechauns eyes don't meet in the middle. Another key difference, if somewhat circumstantial, is that the leprechauns don't exist. Well at least not in the traditional sense. What does exist is a more dangerous breed of ferret like human form, with the same penchant for wealth and a less egalitarian way of acquiring it. These creatures can be found roaming freely up and down the island, wearing suits and sitting behind brass desks in offices that claim to have the best interests of the people at heart. Another of the ilk is masquerading as Taoiseach, though seemingly under the guise of a cow.

Moo-cow

 Following a previous post lamenting the mother-ship, I felt it about time to lambast it for the sake of it. Not that there'll be an over-indulgence in the welts, but feck it: there's little to no point in pretending that it's all hunky-dory. I'm as eager as the next man to believe that it was Ireland Plato spoke of when he referred to the lost island of Atlantis, and the idea of the sunken island was actually a reference to the island Dogger Bank, that sank many's the moon ago. Besides, I read about it in the National Geographic so it must be true. I'm also a realist though, much to my continuing dismay, and though the far away hills are always greener, it's a good idea every now & again to remind the self of the reasoning behind the choices that were taken to up sticks and skip away from Róisín.

Biffo

'Romantic Ireland's with O'Leary in the grave,' to give W.B. his dues, except perhaps in pockets yet untamed by the free-market open-economy in scattered nooks along the west coast. The artists lament and sing about a land that no longer exists. Instead what is left is a proto-type of the globalist's dream, the carcuss of a Tiger that the likes of yon spanner Eddie Hobbes surmised would always roar. It's only struck me now the link between the tiger and Hobbes, perhaps the genius of Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes cartoon mocked Ireland prophetically. Moving swiftly on.

We were given a vote as to whether we wanted to transfer our sovereignty to a European superstate and decided against it. When the people spoke, they were told to speak again, yiz ticked the wrong box last time lads, but sure not to worry, we'll run it again. This time don't fuck it up. So they rolled out the media machine, the taxpayers paid for the vote yes pamphlets and the no brigade were stigmatised as a degenerate band of socialists, shinners and the ill-informed. 'Yes to Lisbon, Yes to Jobs', came the rhetoric, as they coaxed the trinity rich kids out on to the streets in gaudy t-shirts and a sense of do-goodery that'd make Mother Theresa spew chunks into her hanky.

A quick synopsis of the situation post-Lisbon 2 makes for interesting reading. An estimated 70,000 people have emigrated since October '09, as a recent Irish times article that debates the accuracy of the figures points out. If anything I'd say it's a conservative figure. Anyone with half an ear open can't help but notice that the conversation in small towns up and down the country speaks of another plane load of natives heading for Australia or whichever way the wind is blowing at the time. In my own case I fancied something entirely different and it suited my wish to see the world that I wasn't held down by some trivial job, but in reality, there was nothing there to stay for, which is a scary thought. Coupling the guesstimation of the 70,000 emigrated with the increase in live register figures clearly points to a lie in the government's line of electioneering. A deliberate campaign of misinformation that is somehow considered as acceptable and above board. I'd go into the NAMA fiasco but I'd be here all night. What I will say is that the estimated 70+ billion that the taxpayers are contributing to the privately owned corporations, (something along the lines of 18,750euro per man woman and child of Ireland's approximate 4 million inhabitants), is at best an outrageous misappropriation of public funds, and at worst outright theft bordering on large scale fraud.

The crux of this is that there's an over-riding emphasis on the capitalist dream in the upper echelons of Irish society. Those who surfed the wave of credit and refuse to let go of their boards now that it's collapsed. The reality is that the rest of the island is up shit creek without a paddle, and generations to come will be left to foot the bill for the crimes they committed, yet nobody is being held to account. They couldn't have seen it coming. Despite the knowledge that 40% of the Tiger economy's workforce were employed in the construction sector, they couldn't see a day when the market saturated and came a-tumbling. I find that incredibly difficult to believe.

In truth, if everybody on the island were to default on loans, mortgages, credit cards and a.n. other bank repayment, the whole system would come crashing quickly down to a new starting point. If the 70 billion that the government are currently throwing off the Cliffs of Moher was used to install a renewable energy system that had the potential to keep Ireland self-sustainable for the foreseeable future, communities could regroup in a shorter time than will be possible when the inevitable eventually catches up. 'm all for a monetary structure, you give me a goat and I'll give you two sheep but I don't have two sheep so I'll give you this which is the equivalent of the same thing, but a system of credit is based on thin air and stripped bare is no more than a constructed illusion to maintain social division. I miss the Punt, at least with our own currency there remained the potential for Ireland to exist as a separate standing socialist nation independent from the European Union, with community gardening schemes and a return to a system based on reality. Perhaps utopian or what not, and with all manner of difficulties to be overcome, but surely a preferable notion than ploughing headlong into the cataclysm of governence by the IMF.