Eibhlin O'Neill's blog

Santa Claus has been granted clearance to enter Irish airspace on Christmas Eve, Ireland's Transport Minister Shane Ross has said. He went on to say, "I have been informed that a large, jolly man on a low-flying sleigh, assisted by reindeer and perhaps some elves, will be entering Irish air space tomorrow evening. I would therefore encourage all children to be safety tucked up in their beds as early as possible to ensure Santa and his reindeer can go about their work successfully."

News from the Celtic League:

Just days after the documentary ‘Atlantic’ which highlighted the activities of super trawlers was broadcast by RTE cataloguing the damage that they are wreaking on the livelihood of local fishing communities we started tracking some of the largest of these vessels including the Annelies Ilena and the Willem Van der Zwan. At 14,000 tonnes the Annelies Ilena is the largest trawler in the world.

We found them fishing off Northern Scotland near Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and then they started to make there way south (link):

TG4 (Irish: TG Ceathair) is an Irish public service broadcaster for Irish-language speakers. The annual Gradam Ceoil TG4 is the premier traditional music awards when an independent panel of adjudicators selects recipients each year.  The awards are not seen as a competition but a recognition for extraordinary and talented artists in Irish traditional music. Gradam Ceoil recipients receive a specially-commissioned piece by leading sculptor John Coll as well as a small stipend.  

The Irish poet John Montague (28 February 1929 − 10 December 2016) died early on Saturday morning in the Clinique Parc Impérial in Nice aged 87. Born in New York, John Montague was brought up in Tyrone. One of the best known Irish contemporary poets, he published a number of volumes of poetry, two collections of short stories and two volumes of memoir. He became the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry in 1998. 

News from the Celtic League:

There was a massive reaction in Ireland to the documentary ‘Atlantic’ shown on RTE last night. It chronicled the struggle of fishing communities around Ireland and farther afield to survive in the face of industrial fishing by super-trawlers.

Celtic League have been publicising for sometime now the carnage that is being wreaked on the marine environment around our shores and globally by these massive factory ships that Greenpeace term ‘Monster Boats’ which can process several hundred tonnes daily and fish for weeks.

News from the Celtic League:

Another death at Maghaberry just days after CPT respond to our rgent action request:

Just six days after the Council of Europe prisons inspection body the CPT responded to our concerns over deaths at Maghaberry Prison another death has occurred (link):

http://www.irishnews.com/…/third-prisoner-death-at-maghabe…/

In today's Irish Times, Ruadhán Mac Cormaic Foreign Affairs Correspondent, reports on the story of Nadia Murad a member of the Yazidi community. She tells of when in early August 2014, Islamic State gunmen arrived in the village of Kocho, near Sinjar in northern Iraq. Nadia Murad tells of the horrific events that unfolded under the evil rule of Islamic State also known as Isis.

Tourism Ireland have reported that Ireland’s tourism sector enjoyed a record year in 2016. Latest estimates show that 10.5 million people will have visited Ireland by the end of 2016, an increase of 11% on 2015. It takes annual tourism-related revenues to a total of €5.4 billion. Projections suggest the figure is likely to increase further in 2017. Tourism Ireland has stated its intention to target audiences in North America and mainland Europe with marketing campaigns next year. 

Ireland remains a partitioned country which is still partly under foreign rule. It has long been the objective of those who support a united Ireland to build support for achieving Irish reunification by peaceful and democratic means. Now a discussion document titled 'Towards a United Ireland' has been launched. Stressing the economic advantage Northern Ireland Minister for Finance Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said reunification would mean a benefit of £35bn between now and 2025.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will visit Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath) on Monday. She is seeking to expand business, cultural and political links between Scotland and Ireland. During the trip to Dublin the First Minister will visit the Scottish Government's Investment and Innovation Hub which was established to build on collaborative work between Scottish and Irish companies. Nicola Sturgeon said: "Scottish exports to Ireland are worth £1.125 billion and Irish investment into Scotland currently supports more than 6,000 jobs".