The corporations Motorola, BUPA and FCI have all made or implemented plans to leave the Irish market. This has come as a great shock, considering that Motorola’s withdrawal alone will leave up to 350 jobless. The US-based telecommunications giant has a plant in Cork.
The news shocked senior level officials and statesmen as well. This company has operated on the Irish market for a quarter of a century. What is even worse, the Cork branch is involved with software development and employs highly qualified staff.

The grisly murder of plumber Anthony Campbell shook all Dublin. At the funeral his grandfather was choking with tears.
Anthony was killed during a hit on Martin 'Marlo' Hyland, a drug lord. He was an innocent victim in the crossfire. He was deliberately shot because the assassins were afraid of leaving a witness to their crime.
Almost 1000 people attended the young man's funeral at St John the Baptist and St Augustine church in Dublin.

An Irish consortium plans to invest EUR 150 million in a ski and spa resort in Bulgaria, the Irish Sunday Business Post reported on November 26.
The consortium intends to build a five star hotel, 1,000 apartments and a shopping center on a 25-acre site in Bulgarian ski region Bansko.
The property development site was sold for a mere EUR 1.5 million a year ago, but it was recently reevaluated at EUR 12 million according to the newspaper.

U2 frontman Bono and talk show hostess Oprah went on a shopping spree in Chicago to promote a new clothing line, gadgets and accessories, including a limited-edition iPod. A portion of the proceeds will be used to fund the fight against AIDS in Africa. The new line, Product Red, is on sale by Gap, Motorola, Armani, Apple Computer and Converse. Parts of sales income will be acquired by The Global Fund, an organization that fights to prevent AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Anthony Burke (40) has been rushed into the emergency ward of University College Hospital, Galway, after opening fire on Gardai. He barricaded himself in his house, which is located in a cul de sac in Crowe St., while a Garda helicopter circled overhead all day. As many as 50 uniformed and plain-clothes police were deployed in the area. All roads to the house were sealed off, and media representatives were kept away.

Last night over 45 000 clients of Smart Telecom got their phones turned off. The network used by Smart is operated by Eircom, and it was namely this company that rendered the telecom's services nonexistent. It emerged that Smart owes Eircom millions, and Eircom has stopped hoping that it will get its money back.
Smart's problems got really serious last month, when the company announced that CEO Oisin Fanning was leaving his post and that it would review its main fields of business. Company management has fired over 100 staff members since.

There is no truth to the rumor that Michael Smurfit, who brought the Ryder Cup for Ireland last week, will sell the K Club. Several entities have expressed an interest in buying it, but he turned down all offers. In an interview he shared that it is a „hereditary thing“ for him and that he wants it to go to his descendants. Smurfit has 6 children and 12 grandchildren with another one on the way.

If you decide to visit Ireland in August or September, you will find celebrations taking place everywhere, from food fairs to street performances. If you can't decide where to travel, the city of Kilkenny is a good option. Often described as the creative center of Ireland, this medieval city is a lively, cheerful place that almost became the capital in the mid-17th century. It offers splendid views of the Nore river and a myriad of impressive historical attractions.

The band was formed in 1978, when its members were still students at Mount Temple school in Dublin, Ireland. They released their first album, U23, the next year. By 1980 they already had a stable following. That year the group released 11 O'Clock Tick Tock, their first single.
U2 are famous for their inspiring music and the social causes lead singer Bono champions to a comparable degree. The indefatigable Bono organizes celebrities to do commercials, talks to world leaders, goes on high-profile talk shows, and more. If it wasn't for him many people would be oblivious to the famine in Africa. He uses concerts as a venue to rally people and motivate them to exercise social consciousness. He even prays about the troubles in Africa at shows. U2 has turned public attention to causes like Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Stop Sellafield, and many, many more. At their concerts there are booths where you can support a various number of initiatives. Do keep this in mind the next time you decide to go see them.

Dublin airport is around ten miles away from Dublin city center. At times it can get crowded, especially during the active tourist season, as it is quite small compared to the size of the city. It is easy to access the center of Dublin from the airport. Right outside the main entrance is a taxi rank, offering a wide selection. The fare to the city is in the range of €15-20, depending on the date and time. You can also take a coach – the coaches are directly across the road, facing the airport exit. There is a coach leaving every 15 minutes. Another option is the Dublin Bus Airlink Service. A bus ticket costs €4.50. The route is from the airport to the center and back. The buses are very frequent. The regular city bus is the cheapest option – the cost is only around €1.45. If you have a lot of luggage though, this option is not feasible. The city buses come every 20 minutes.

Approximately 30 Irish citizens were evacuated from Lebanon today on account of the rising conflicts there. The group will travel from Beirut to Syria by bus, after which they expect to fly home. Earlier this week the Department of Foreign Affairs arranged for 80 Irish to be evacuated. They were transported across the border to Damascus, the capital of Syria, where they took a state-chartered flig

Dublin is the preeminent cultural center of Ireland. Famous sons of the city include James Joyce, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett. The works of Joyce are considered the autobiography of an age, namely the early 1900s in Dublin. His collection of stories Dubliners presents a portrait of life in the city. Lives intertwine and interconnect against the background of the city.
Dubliners deals with ordinary everyday events, but the emotions of the characters are far from ordinary and mundane. The stories are linked by the theme of the disastrous effects of routine, something we can all relate to. One of the stories, An Encounter, begins rather conventionally – a boy skips school, a routine that bores him, and finds himself in an even worse place - a field, where he has to listen to a psychotic man recycle disturbing thoughts. In the story Counterparts the protagonist is a copy clerk. His job mirrors his life, a tedious routine. He takes out his frustration in bars and on his son. His anger deepens and he cannot find peace. His life is a downward spiral.

This major international travel event will take place in the Business Design Center of London on June 5 and 6. Topics on the daily agenda will include a number of key issues related to tourism and travel in Europe. Among them are the status of the continent as a region for travel distribution, fundamental changes in corporate travel distribution, revenue management, progress made by online travel agents and e-bookers, evolution of payment infrastructure, search engine phenomena and many more. All these subjects will be discussed during the event.

A one-week survey of over 1000 teachers in Ireland, 31% of whom in Dublin, has shown that 20% of teachers have been harassed or abused by students. Most teachers’ classes have been interrupted at least once during the week. Parents are bound to be shocked by the results of the survey, which reflect alarming levels of violence and mistreatment. Around 21% of teachers observed physical violence between students in that week alone.