An outstanding Irish writer of fiction will be chosen to promote Irish literature around the world As Ireland becomes the first country to exit the eurozone bailout programme , one of its writers can look forward to a period of prosperity with the creation of a laureateship award worth €150,000 (£126,500) over three years. Ireland's Arts Council has teamed up with University College Dublin and New...
s awkwardly beautiful Christmas poem plays with shape and rhyme in unexpected ways At first you could almost imagine that the speaker in this week's poem, Advent by Patrick Kavanagh, is Adam, addressing Eve some while after the Fall. Calling the addressee "lover", after all, implies a close and carnal relationship. But the "too much" that the speaker and lover have "tested and tasted" is more inclusive...
s departure from the IMF-EU multi-billion euro bailout programme this weekend, the Taoiseach said that "we must continue to pursue prudent budgetary policies". Kenny said that under the bailout programme "many families have also had to face the devastating consequences of unemployment and emigration". He said that thanks to the efforts of ordinary people the country was able to exit the programme....
Toole: last of the 60s hellraisers • Peter O'Toole: a career in clips Katharine Hepburn , his consort in The Lion in Winter (1968), once told Peter O'Toole that he was profligate with his talent as an actor. But perhaps O'Toole's metier was always risk. Even in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), when he was not quite 30, he looked like an elegant wreck, dipped in suntan, his eyes full of fever. O'Toole, who...
s performance review failing and EU 'should overhaul its aid' to Gaza Canada: MPs' staff forced to sign gag orders to get pay rises New contracts require all staff in MP's offices to sign lifelong confidentiality agreements to prevent leaks of politically sensitive material. They can only breach the confidentiality agreement if required to do so by law, such as during a court testimony. If current...
s story has few parallels with other nations, where there is more rage in the air European austerity finally has its poster boy, as Ireland demonstrates that bailout is not a permanent state, by exiting its emergency deal with the "Troika" of international financial institutions. We can expect George Osborne, who used to cite the Republic as an example of low-tax virtue up until it collapsed, to start...
s exit shows that while Europe needs to find answers to its critics, the critics must in turn recognise the real and substantial signs of progress, hard-won by our people. The decision Ireland has taken to exit the programme without any further precautionary credit line is possible because of what we have achieved. Competitiveness has been restored as our costs and prices have risen more slowly than...
s rehabilitation has been impressive . Its banks look far healthier than they did at the height of the crisis; modest growth has resumed; and its debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to start declining after peaking this year. That has helped Ireland's bond yields – in effect the interest rate Dublin must pay on its debts – fall to well below the level faced by the other bailed-out eurozone countries. But...
Landmark moment in the history of the eurozone as Ireland become the first country to leave a financial assistance programme, but the social cost has been high Graeme Wearden ...
As Irish government ministers marked the country’s exit from its bailout programme Friday, has Ireland really turned the corner? Share your experiences and thoughts on the future Nassos Stylianou ...
Pub chain owner Oliver Hughes explains why he is investing in Dingle Whiskey Distillery Henry McDonald ...