State Visits, Speeches, Smiling and generally being Happy

Hello everyone,

First of all, i’d like to apologise for the lack of blog posting over the last week. My trip home to Ireland has meant that almost every second of my time has been needed for someone, or something, somewhere at some time.

Anyway, here I am!

It’s old news now, I know, but i’d just like to add my voice to the many people who are infinitely happy with how the State Visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama played out. We did ourselves proud as a people and showed what we can be when we work together. The speeches made at the huge concert that was held in Dublin, by notable Irish figures such as Brendan Gleeson showed an Ireland that is ready to tackle tomorrow.

I reckon it did show that we are not a people who continually look at our shoes and hide in clouds of doom and gloom – but a people who are ready to extend a welcome hand, even when we face difficulties ourselves that may seem impossible to overcome.

Despite all the bad news, financial issues and all sorts of related misfortunes, we all found a smile on our faces when we watched these events happen, regardless of political feelings on the visits.

It was a happy time for us Irish, and we really did need something to smile about.

So now, with the State Visits behind us and the euphoria slowly wearing off, we sit back in our proverbial chair and ponder on it. What happens now?

I ask that question a lot in my posts, I find. What happens now?

We can get caught up in the moment and feel the rush, but what do we do with the experience once the rush has worn off?

I would like to think that these visits have reminded the Irish people that being cheerful is not so hard to do, that we have things to be happy about as well as things to be glum about – and that the former always outweigh the latter, at least they do in my opinion if you look in the right places.

As I saw on an advert, there are more funny videos on the internet than there are pieces of bad news. Commercial tagline or not, it makes a good point.

We’re well able to tackle this financial crisis and all the related unfortunate situations that have befallen us in the last few years. The sound of a fiddle being played in a pub will always be louder than the sound of bankers losing money. A chat over a cup of tea will always hold more meaning to us than a board meeting of men in suits.

We’re a great people, us Irish. I just hope that when the feelings of excitement and wonder that ran through our collective veins wear off, we can remember that.

I hope that we can keep smiling, because when all is said and done, we do have a lot to smile about.

Here’s the link to Brendan Gleeson’s speech at the Obama Concert in Dublin during the President’s visit (i’m sorry that it’s not a great copy, if I find a better one i’ll tweet it out to all of you nice people):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD04ioqDNIk

And, if you haven’t seen it or missed out on it on the day, here’s the link to Barack Obama’s speech, with a fiery and very heartfelt introduction by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngwyKsUg9Ms&feature=related

There are plenty of other videos floating around from the day, some official videos but mostly amateur footage from camera phones (which I think is nice, in itself).

Look out for more blogs soon, i’ll be kicking it up over the next while! As usual, your opinions/comments are most welcome on the topics that are discussed, both today and on any other post you may have read. If you’re on twitter, @Meehan990 is where to find me and my sometimes-interesting tweets.

For now, I bid you all adieu.

Mark Meehan, 30/05/2011

 

 

 

 

 

Queen Elizabeth speaking Irish and what it means

Howdy folks,

As i’m writing this, you’re probably watching the various news stories that are overtaking the entire country as all of the Irish people try to comprehend that the Queen actually spoke Irish.

The Queen! Speaking Irish!

It has to be one of the most important moments in recent Irish history, so much so that I figured I had to take the opportunity to write about it here.

There’s more to the few words that the Queen than it seems. When she stood up and said “A Uachtaráin agus a chairde”, it represented a massive move away from how things had been done in the past. Over the past 50 years, we had community division, war, atrocities and all manner of things that served to divide the Irish and British people into completely opposite groups. We had “them” and “us”, with the terms changing depending on which side you stood on.

And now, we have a brand new way to look at the relations between Ireland and England.

I can’t imagine that the Queen simply decided to speak her cupla focail there and then on the spot. When I listened to her, her Irish sounded learned – it sounded like she had put serious effort into it.

Tonight, the entirety of Ireland is looking on the 85 year-old monarch in a new light.

I think the fact that both Irish and English were spoken by both Heads of State shows something, even if the Queen’s Irish was only the few words. It shows the equality which they both spoke of. The Queen was willing to learn something about our culture, however small it might seem, and apply it to our relations.

I think it makes her seem less of a far-away figure. It makes her seem less like someone who is simply talked about across the water, and more like someone who is actually interested in us, interested in our culture and what it means for Britain.

It was a very powerful show of equality.

So far, the Queen’s visit has been something to behold, something I will definitely be telling my grandchildren about many years from now. I was there when the Queen of the United Kingdom and the President of Ireland stood side by side in a completely new way. I was there when the Irish and British people found a new understanding of each other.

It’s going to be a very interesting few days.

Here is the link to the Queen’s speech, with the text in full and the video can be found on the left-hand side of the page, roughly half way down.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0518/queenspeech.html

Have a look if you haven’t already. It’s something to behold. And here is the link to President McAleese’s speech, which was also something monumental.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0518/mcaleesespeech.html

We’re really heading in a new direction. Let’s see what else the rest of this royal visit has to offer. The hashtag #queensvisit is still trending massively on twitter, so have a look if you’re on!

Mark Meehan, 18/05/2011

Bin Laden, the US, News and a Headache

Hello there!

Yep, me again. Still here! Thought i’d sit in the lovely sunshine and write to all of you nice people! A bit political today, though…be warned…

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will already know that I’ve been following the whole Osama Bin Laden news (he’s dead – in case you live under a rock). It’s been rather a large mess of news, fake pictures, lies and reconstructed truths. You probably know just as much about it as I do, it’s hard to avoid it these days. Every single newspaper, website and tv station seems to have his picture up everywhere.

So, one of the biggest faces of world terrorism is dead. Is that the end of that?

Somehow, I don’t think so.

I was following events on Twitter as the news came out, and I saw the official lines coming from the White House as they happened. Things were said, then retracted, then said, then changed, then lied about. Even now as I write this, more stories are coming out that will cause an even bigger headache to the US Government. The whole issue of the US invading another country’s territory to do it is causing even more problems. Most countries are having to balance the fact that Bin Laden is dead against he fact that the US seems to have broken International Law to do it.

It’s an odd thing that’s troubling a lot of people across the world. Is it right to celebrate someone’s death, even if that person is categorically evil? Was the US right to ignore International Law?

I’ve spent the last few days discussing these things on http://www.boards.ie in the politics forum (if you’re not on it and you like politics, give it a go. Just expect a lot of opinionated people – like me!), and most people are of the opinion that we are a better world without him. I share that opinion.

Without getting into this issue too heavily (and believe me, it can happen), i’d like to ask what you think about the US question. I won’t ask the morality one because I don’t want this blog to be something heavy to read – some things are best left to other places, not here.

So, here we go:

Was the US right to ignore international law, and fly into Pakistan’s territory without warning to attack the world’s most wanted man?

Tough one, isn’t it?

Let me know what you think, find me on Twitter @Meehan990 or if you’re on Facebook, reply to the post containing this blog with your opinion. Everyone’s opinion is welcome! I’ll include them in the next blog on the subject, and I do reckon there’ll be more.

That’s it for now. Enough heavy stuff, its too nice a day! Oh, and a belated “May the 4th be with you”.

Mark Meehan, 05/05/2011