I learned about the Kings of Concrete festival late last week, and I barely remembered to go at midday on Sunday.
It was a gorgeous day, probably the warmest yet, and the sun was beaming its love upon the whole land. Just to walk to the Dublin City Council building was a joy. (more…)
We had a great day for sports on Sunday. By far the most thrilling event was our first GAA match in person — and better yet, at the national stadium, Croke Park! Here’s the link for a short slideshow of our day at Croker, with plenty of information in the descriptions:
Photos of Croke Park, 29 June 2008, on flickr
The match was County Dublin versus County Westmeath, in the semi-final of the Football Championship for the Irish province of Leinster. (more…)
Anita is leading a BBB&B tour of Corca Dhuibhne. She is showing Dingle how to have a good time, the Bugle way. (Rule 1: Food first, then fun.) As I tended to the maintenance of the B&B today, I heard far-away music reflected from the tall walls of my neighbourhood.
“Oh yes,” I thought, “today there’s a festival at Dublin Castle. That’s a long way for the sound to travel on such a windy day, though.” I finished my work in the afternoon and headed west to see the sights. (more…)
Well, it’s a tie, but this gimmick is hardly a rousing success so far. Thank you to the two voters for being good stewards of the Bugle franchise.
Corey Patterson’s birthday is August 13, and Melky Cabrera’s is August 11. Both are within a week of my own! So the tie-breaker goes to Mr. Patterson, with the closer one. He’ll be on the roster tomorrow morning.
After the second week of the season, The Dublin Felons have a respectable 13-7 record, good enough for third place in the league.
The staff would like to introduce a new gimmick — er, feature — for the Bakker Bugle Blog. At several points during the season, you can manage The Dublin Felons! For this week, we let you determine which player will get room service and white balls for batting practice. Just vote in the poll to the right before noon on Wednesday (CDT). Your options are:
In case you’re wondering about the overall lineup: The Dublin Felons currently have three second basemen (Brian Roberts and Dustin Pedroia) and three outfielders. Yes, that’s a serious imbalance. But are the available outfielders worth exchanging for Polanco? You decide!
It’s time for fantasy baseball! My transatlantic relationship with American culture will change profoundly in the next week. Commenter Extraordinaire Dave runs the league, and my draft is Saturday.
I dubbed my team “The Dublin Felons” this year. [Previously “Irish Felons”, in error. — Ed.] Before you get the wrong idea: The name is a tribute to The Irish Felon, a newspaper that helped build the foundation for the Land War of the late 19th Century. Here’s an excerpt from the first issue (24 June 1848):
The transportation of a man, as a felon, for uttering sentiments held and professed by at least five-sixths of his countrymen, seemed to me so violent and so insulting a national wrong, that submission to it must be taken to signify incurable slavishness. The English Government, the proclaimed enemy of our nationality, had deliberately selected John Mitchel to wreck their vengeance upon him, as representative of the Irish nation. By indicting him for a ‘felony’ they virtually indicted five-sixths of the Irish people for ‘felony’. By sentencing him to fourteen years transportation to a penal settlement, they pronounced five-sixths of the Irish people guilty of a crime worthy of such punishment; and they declared that every individual of the six million of Irish Repealers who escapes a similar doom, escapes it not through right and law, but through the mercy or at the discretion of the English minister.
The audacity of our tyrants must be acknowledged. They occupy our country with military force, in our despite, making barracks of our very marts and colleges, as if to defy and challenge any manly pride that might linger among our youth. They pervert our police force into an organisation of street bullies, as if to drive all peace-loving industrious citizens into the ranks of disaffection. — John Martin
I expect each good son (or daughter) of Ireland to throw his (or her) match against The Irish Felons. Otherwise, may the curse of Molly Malone and her seven rotten children chase you so far beyond the seventh hill of damnation that the Lord himself won’t be able to see you with a telescope.
In addition, I plan to use my six-hour advantage every morning to great effect. So maybe I’ll even finish as well as 8th of 12 teams. I’m sure you have a thousand questions, so I’ll answer them in the comments.
Happy Daffodil Day! In Ireland, March Seventh is Daffodil Day in Ireland. It’s a day designated by the Irish Cancer Society to donate funds to support cancer research and services to those who are affected by cancer. Several Anglophone cancer societies use the daffodil as an official symbol, including the American Cancer Society. (In Chicago, Daffodil Days begin on St Patrick’s Day.)
As in the US, the Irish Cancer Society employs Jarvisian skill in PR, bring the government, the media and practically all mainstream institutions on board.
The daffodil is also the national flower of Wales. In a neat coincidence, the national rugby team of Wales visits Croke Park in Dublin tomorrow. At this point in the Six Nations Tournament, Ireland is one of three national teams tied for second place behind Wales. So, on the day before one of the biggest matches of the year for Irish rugby, thousands of Irish fans are wearing a symbol of the opposing team. Nice!
Finally, on a personal note, I’ve wondered for weeks whether any daffodils are poking their heads above ground in the Midwest. I’ve seen them around Dublin for weeks. The photo above was taken on February 18th. Do you see daffodils where you are? Let me know in the comments.
The Bugle staff might not be productive for the next few weeks. In Ireland, office Christmas parties are taken very seriously. From what we understand, it can take up to two weeks to recover. So the staff apologize, in advance, if they are not able to maintain the levels of Bugle excellence that you expect.
Relax, enjoy your own festivities, and look forward to lots of new stuff in the new year!
The last weekend in October was a bank holiday weekend (meaning a Monday off). That Monday, the 27th annual Dublin marathon chose to start in our front yard (literally). The main start was on the east side of Fitzwilliam Square, so the runners lined up in front of our house as they sorted between their start times.
I’d never been to a major race before. The start times were a bit staggered (elite women at 8:45, wheelchairs 10 minutes later, then the main start a bit after nine), so I dragged Will out early. It was like a small carnival outside our door — skinny people in trash bags, not so skinny people in trash bags and others in more normal running clothes. They were all over — some already lining up to get into the stalls, others wandering around talking to friends and family, still others making use of our park for a public toilet….
Will and I headed up to the starting line. It was a cool morning, only in the 40’s, but that is the perfect temperature for a long run (or so I’m told). It was so emotional and exciting to be at the start and I didn’t even know anyone running. Watching the runners throw their extra clothes and trash bags off right before the start, seeing the runners bounce and bob as they get ready for the start, feeling the large group pass you by as the main start happens…. it is a overwhelming experience. I can’t imagine how much more so it must be for the runners.
The most amazing part is how fast the city of Dublin cleans up after these events. The streets around our square were wrecked with clothes, wrappers, bottles and floating trash bags, but within a couple of hours, the city workers had the square looking like normal again.
Take a look at our photos of the event at Flickr: Set of Marathon Photos
As I’ve mentioned previously, we’ve been really thrilled to get the NFL on our satellite. We were especially excited because we realized Sky Sports was broadcasting the “Game of the Season” between the Colts and the Patriots. The only downside — the game started at 9pm Dublin time. Recognizing that there was no way I was going to stay up until after midnight on a Sunday just to watch a football game, we set up the DVR and headed to bed.
In the States, delaying the game would have been a challenge. There would be no way to avoid knowing the outcome. But Will and I were confident that none of the newspapers in Dublin would report on outcome. We were right, so Monday night, we settled in to watch the game.
I’ve always liked Peyton Manning and I grew up close to the Colts, so I sat down and put my cheers behind Indy. Will was indifferent. Both of us, however, really enjoyed the game. (We watched it over two evenings.) While the outcome could have been better, the actual football played was excellent. The caliber and quality of the play was terrific.
I don’t know how many other games we will get to see this year that will be as excellent as that one, but I do know that I’ll be checking the schedule each Sunday!
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