ireland

After outer space, any terrestrial trip has got to feel like a comedown. But this morning, at exactly 10:30 am GMT, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfied tweeted,“Good morning, Ireland! Happily headed to Dublin and Belfast. Hoping to learn a cúpla focals [a couple of words].” (Some on Twitter proceeded to correct the former International Space Station commander that the proper usage is “focail”.)

Ireland has long been a country of emigrants. For around the past 300 years, the Irish have been leaving their homes to escape whatever it is they want to escape—mostly famine or economic depression, historically—in search of a better life elsewhere. I recently became one of the Irish diaspora myself, leaving the country, along with many of my friends, because of the severe lack of jobs and very real prospect of the economy remaining in perpetual decline.

The chief peace negotiator for Colombia’s Farc guerrilla movement has given the clearest signal yet that the group’s near half-century left-wing insurgency is drawing to a close. In his radio interview Mr Márquez said that as part of its peace strategy the group had been looking at other peace processes, including Northern Ireland’s. “We have met with the Irish, with the IRA, and they there found a formula which has to be analysed very closely,” he said.

Referencing a mix of history and personal experience, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny exhorted 4,395 Boston College graduates today to “let go, let fly.” In his speech, Kenny touched on the deep ties between the United States and Ireland, forged over centuries.

The Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) has launched a new ‘Women in Leadership Group’ to complement its growing network of technology leaders. The objectives of the group will be to create mentoring opportunities for female graduates who are pursuing technology careers, mentor matching for female entrepreneurs and for women who are seeking corporate leadership roles, and to provide support, guidance, and insight for female-led technology start-ups.

Marc Coleman is under the illusion that Brazil could become Ireland's 'El Dorado' (Sunday Independent, March 10, 2013). He states that '47 per cent of Brazil's 100 million population is middle class'. The census of 2010 gives Brazil's population as 190.8 million, not 100 million. It is absurd to think that this growing middle-class 'are crying out for what we (Ireland) want to export'.

It was a St Patrick's Day celebration danced to a samba beat rather than a slip jig in Brazil last night as the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro turned green for Ireland's national holiday. The now annual 'greening' of landmarks around the world has gained further momentum.

The official Facebook page of Israel’s embassy to Ireland this morning posted, and then abruptly deleted, a provocative message arguing that “hostile Palestinians” would “lynch” Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary, if they lived in today’s Bethlehem... The Facebook message, which begins “A thought for Christmas,” included an image of Jesus and Mary. It was live for about two hours before being deleted.

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