The Claddagh

This is a combination of three elements. The hands represent friendship, the heart stands for love and the crown signifies loyalty.

The Claddagh ring is the traditional Irish engagement and marriage ring.

I took this picture in Galway :

Shamrock          

         A shamrock is a young sprig of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. The Ireland's patron saint, Saint Patrick has used it as a metaphor for the Christian Trinity.

In ancient times, a tiny three-leafed plant bloomed far and wide and laid a carpet of green all over the limestone hills of Ireland. The Druids knew the Shamrock has mystical powers. To them its three leaves were a natural sign of a sacred number.

This little plant was even said to warn of an approaching storm by turning up its leaves.

According to legend, St Patrick himself plucked a Shamrock from the ground to explain his belief in the Trinity. They say this helped convert the Irish people to Christianity. Many believed that wearing this little sprig of green  would keep them from harm. Over the centuries that have elapsed since then, the Shamrock has become an instantly recognisable emblem of the Emerald Isle.

Whatever the truth of the legends, the Shamrock is cherished by Irish people everywhere and is worn by all nationalities around the world on Saint Patrick's Day, one of the great international festivals.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Ireland, following approval of a referendum on 22 May 2015 to provide in the country's constitution that marriage is recognized irrespective of the sex of the partners.

Civil partnerships, granted under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, give same-sex couples rights and responsibilities similar, but not equal, to those of civil marriage.

National debate :

             In 1993, after the decriminalisation of "buggery", gay rights was not a high-profile issue in Ireland. But from 2001 Irish media increasingly covered international developments in the same-sex partnerships issue.

This has reopen a coverage of reports  on the issue, legal cases taken by Irish same-sex couples, surrogate parenthood, adoption, extra-legal same-sex unions, blessings and the foreign partnerships of Irish politicians.

From 2003, Irish Legislators began to comment publicly. Some suggesting legislation, and some referring to Catholic teachings. Among the general public, reaction was favourable.

Some public and religious figures, including bishops in the Catholic Church, and in the Church of Ireland also proposed legal recognition in 2004, but in a form different from marriage.

Only the manifestos of the Green Party and the Labour Party explicitly referred to the rights of gay couples at the 2002 general election. But from 2004 all political parties, made statements in favour of varying forms of recognition.

According to the newspaper Irish Independent, we have the account of a seventeen year-old girl, who has grown up with her mother and her girlfriend, in Collon, a little town closed to Dundalk, and who is calling for a Yes vote.

« I just referred to my mam, her girlfriend, my brother, my two sisters and I as a family, because that's what we are, we live in one house, we eat together, we go places together, we go places apart, we argue, we are one.

One thing that infuriates me is when people say that gay people shouldn't have children. My mams are gay and the four of us turned out alright. Nelson Mandela said 'No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

I'm proud of my family and my background. »

Government officials are currently drafting the Marriage Bill to reflect the vote and constitutional change.

The Marriage Equality referendum was held on 22 May 2015. The referendum proposed to add the following text to Article 41 of the Constitution :

« Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex »

The referendum was approved, with the yesvote taking just over 62% of the total votes cast, marking the first time a country has legalised same sex marriage in a nationwide popular vote.

The referendum on gay marriage saw Ireland make history as the only country in the world where the reform was backed by popular vote.

 Here are some pictures I took in Dundalk and Dublin before the vote:

 Source:

Referendum.ie

Wikipedia

http://www.independent.ie

http://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/

Here is the link to see an article about the legislation of Alcohol in Ireland:

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/alcohol-legislation-follows-behind-curve-of-public-opinion-rather-than-leading-it-1.2090245

In this article, there are three important ideas.

The first one is about the reputation of Irish people with alcohol and explain how the Ireland’s relationship with drink and drinking has already changed and evolved.

Today, Irish peole still considered Ireland as a nation of drinkers, which is why the Bill is necessary, but Irish people are tired about the consequences of alcohol, in particular with the young people. They are also worried about the effects of alcohol on the physical, mental health, and weight on these one, because of the children’s propensity to drink earlier, more heavily and faster than previous generations.

But the Bill is a long time coming so the minister of health Leo Varadkar , even if he knows that he has a responsability in this delay, is right to say « We have been talking about this for too long »

It’s time to act.

The second paragraph of this article is talking about what the government wants to do to fight against alcoholism. And the single most important measure in the legislation is the proposal for minimum unit pricing for alcohol products.

This measure was taken with the aim of returning the alcohol consumption less accessible, in particular to the young people. The government thinks that thanks to this measure the drinking patterns could change,  the alcoholism and the problems drinkers could be reduce.

This measure aims also to shift the balance within the sector away from the off-trade and toward the on-trade. It will permit to supervised the ancient unsupervised consumption of alcohol purchased in off-licenses.

But this meausre will certainly be a real challenge, because of the precedent tries of different others countries to make this legislation activ.

The idea of unit pricing will certainly be not accepted by everybody and the tribunal will be appealed.

This situation is comparable to the opposition from the tobacco lobby to the proposal for plain packaging of cigarettes.

The third paragraph explains that besides the unsatisfaction of people about this legislation, the left-wing will oppose this measure because it affects the poor most.

Recently, the structural separation of alcohol from other products was approved.

The Bill has really strict measures, such as the requirement of price labels to carry health warnings, calorie counts and information about the alcohol content.  And because the measures for regulating the advertising and marketing of alcohol are vague, the  Bill will make the market of alcohol illegal.

Furthermore, M. Varadkar is promising « legal regulation » of sport sponsorship but any details are provided for now.

Ultimately, the devil will be in the detail, assuming the Government has enough time to see the legislation passed.

 Background

The alcohol-related behaviour of the European adolescents has changed significantly over the last few years. There are an increasing precocity, a growth of the number of experiences of intoxication and the development of new drinking patterns. However, there are some distinct variations within Europe itself, traditionaly between North and South countries.

These different drinking patterns can be explained by the cultural differences between these different European regions. In parallel, it would be advisable to relativize certain common sayings, such as: “consumption by European young people is constantly increasing” or “French youngsters are amongst the highest consumers of alcoholic beverages in Europe”. These assertions, taken amongst a multitude of others, are only partly true, if not false. In many European countries, consumption is quite stable, if not actually decreasing (e.g. Italy) and, contrary to popular belief, French youngsters are positioned in the European average.

Here are some information about the alcohol-related behaviour of people in different countries.

If we consider the action of having already drunk alcohol, the countries greatly resemble one another: most of the 16 year old group have already drunk one alcoholic beverage. On the other hand, when we observe regular consumption, we can see large differences between the countries and sometimes remarkable shifts, whereby some countries distinguish themselves by an increase or a decrease in their consumption. 

 Example :

·        In 1995, in Italy, almost 13% of 16 year old youngsters declared having drunk alcohol ten times or more over the last 30 days. In 1999 this figure fell to 7%. In contrast, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic or Ireland are amongst the countries which have seen consumption increasing markedly, if not doubling.

The division between Latin countries and Scandinavian countries and the UnitedKingdom is undeniable. Alcohol is in the whole the first psychotropic substances young boys and girls experimented. The product is present in all European cultures. Thus, at the age of 16, 89% of European young people reported having drunk alcohol at least once in their lives. This first experience with alcohol is widely regarded by such young people as an initiation, it’s about “tasting”.

Different patterns of alcohol consumption :

It is in fact possible to distinguish very different patterns of alcohol consumption amongst European adolescents in terms of the frequency of consumption and repeated intoxication, the former not necessarily being related to the latter.

·        Example :

In the Netherlands or the United Kingdom, many youngsters regularly drink alcoholic beverages and often experience intoxication, whereas the French and Greek teenagers, while drinking regularly are much less likely to report being intoxicated.

Frequent consumption is not necessarily synonymous with repeated intoxication. In this case, the cultural differences between countries are significant. We can therefore distinguish 4 families:

Firstly, we see that the AngloSaxon countries are always situated in the higher bracket, both in terms of consumption frequency and repeated intoxication. The Northern countries are characterised by quite a low daily consumption but, on the other hand, by frequent intoxication. Finally, Latin countries do not seem to share this popular youthful culture of “getting drunk”: the figures are relatively low even in the case of frequent consumption.

Differences in consumption according to gender ?

 The differences of the drinking patterns between girls and boys in Europe essentially follow cultural criteria. We will observe significant differences according to gender in certain countries whereas for other countries the consumption of alcoholic beverages will be relatively similar gender-wise.

Example :

In France, we observe important boy/girl differences whereas Ireland or the United Kingdom show less difference. A survey shows that 16% of young Irish girls have consumed an alcoholic beverage ten or more times over the last 30 days, compared with 18% for their male counterparts. In France the percentages are 5% for the girls and 12% for the boys.

How can this disparity be explained? Women are inhibited by social constraints, relatively protected from excessive consumption. Drinking alcohol for a woman is demeaning and considered vulgar in the culture of Latin countries. This is far from being the case in the UK or in Scandinavia.

In the United Kingdom :

Young British people are often pointed out because of their large consumption of alcohol, but also because they are rather frequently drunk. Of course this is a recognised fact, but it is important, beyond the simple observation of the facts, to try to understand and analyse this situation, to take into account the major trends and recent evolutions.

Between 1995 and 1999, the total consumption of alcohol of British adolescents has remained stable, that is mean above the average in Europe. Self-reported intoxication did not change significantly and periodic intoxication was most often reported by teenagers in the UK at week ends and looks like the “excesses of a Saturday night” noticed in the other European countries.

What about the difference between men and women? The distinction between boys and girls is less marked compared to some other European countries, but it still exists. Contrary to the general accepted ideas, cultural barriers still exist. British girls drink less than boys. Even so, teenage girls in the UK had quite high levels of consumption and experience of intoxication.

The experience of alcohol, for boys and girls, is linked with the notion of pleasure. But the majority of British teenagers generally drank moderate amounts.

The alcohol problems often affect the most unprivileged and deprived people. In the UK, single-parent families are often attempting to manage on low incomes. Teenagers from such backgrounds were especially likely to drink heavily, to smoke tobacco and to use illicit drugs such as cannabis. Many UK parents were reported not to know where their teenage children spent their leisure time on weekend evenings. This ignorance could be associated with heavier teenage drinking, but is certainly only one of many related factors. The United Kingdom does not seem to have assessed the problem yet or in any case, it does not seem to have placed it among its priorities in terms of public health. Consequently there is not a global policy, but different laws in each country, often very recent. Mostly, these laws are inadequate. The British are, and have always been, ambivalent about alcohol, its pleasure and its problems. There is no widespread popular support for rigorous control measures. On the other hand, there is a moral and social consensus against drinking and driving and there are very few road accidents due to alcohol.

The celtic cross

         Standing tall in the landscape. Rooted in the Irish soil. And yet reaching for the sky. Since early times, the Celtic Cross has marked sacred places all over Ireland.

Each one has its own tale to tell – with stories from scripture, carved in stone, preserved for future generations.

From the shores of Lough Neagh and the cathedral city of Armagh, to the monasteries of Clonmacnoise and Monasterboice, these high crosses are powerful symbols of early Christinity in Ireland.

One legend tells how St Patrick saw a pagan standing stone imprinted with a circle, the symbol of the moon goddess. He is said to have blessed the stone, marking it with a Latin cross – thus creating the first Celtic Cross. Whatever the story, the Celtic Cross pays tribute to those ancient Celts whose legacy remains. And for all to see, it is a powerful symbol of faith. Now the story continues with those who wear a Celtic Cross. In doing so, we remember the precious heritage of Ireland. This land that has always been the home of saints and scholars.