The A 2 Z of 2010
From political apologies to international oil spills, rescued miners to recession mayhem, dearly departed to wedding day joy, one thing's for sure: 2010 saw it all. This feature was brought to you by the letters of Michael Clifford
A is for apologies, B is for banks and Brians
The wedding of Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman: see N for nuptials
The writing's on the wall: IMF chief Ajai Chopra (left) arrives in Dublin for bailout talks. See I
Julian Assange of Wikileaks
Willie O'Dea: see O
Beating the odds: see T for Tipperary hurlers
Iris and Peter Robinson were rocked by an affair scandal: see U for Unionism's First Family
V for Vuvzela: the sound of the summer
Weather worries: see W
Daniel McAnaspie: see Y
Mary Byrne did us proud on X Factor
A is for Apologies
What else should I be, all apologies? The pope was all apologies this year. In a pastoral letter to the Irish flock in March he apologised for the "grave errors" of the Church. In September, on a visit to the UK, he went a bit further. He was sorry for the "unspeakable crimes committed by some priests".
Back home, that delicate flower, Michael O'Leary, was forced to apologise to transport minister Noel Dempsey. It emerged in a court case in April that O'Leary had misrepresented judge Peter Kelly in one of his frequent, abusive missives to Dempsey. Kelly was apoplectic and demanded that O'Leary say the hardest word. We can only assume that Dempsey now hangs the written apology in a choice spot, like the loo.
During the year, O'Leary also apologised to union official Evan Cullen and EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, to whom he had referred in an advertisement as Pinocchio. Mickser is growing into this apology business. It suits him.
Brian Cowen apologised for his performance on Morning Ireland at the Fianna Fáil get together in September. He was suffering from nasal congestion. He was hoarse. He was late for the interview. He had a skinful the previous night. Some say he was half cut, and word went out across the globe.
"Well I'm sorry that it emerged in the quality that it did and, as I say, there was a hoarseness in my voice throughout the day yesterday," he told the nation.
"But it doesn't take away from the fact that it wasn't my best performance and I would like to apologise for that."
A few times during the year, he half apologised, in a sort of way, for the state of the country, but not really.
B is for banks
They haven't gone away, you know. They haven't died and gone to hell. B is for billions, 85 and counting. B is for bailout, keeping the country afloat. B is for Brians, the pair of them. Enough already?
C is for Chilean miners
In a year when enveloping gloom battered away at the human spirit, here was a story to inspire. A cave-in on 5 August at the mine in Copiapo, 500 miles north of Santiago, saw 33 miners trapped half a mile underground. The worst was feared, but a drill bore through to the men 17 days later. When the drill was pulled out, it had a note attached, reading "Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33" – "We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us."
The rescue mission got underway. Ireland gave a dig-out through a company in Shannon, which supplied a drill bit. Initial estimates suggested the rescue might not be possible until Christmas, raising the spectre that not all of the men might survive. A video was lowered down into the cave and a guided tour was conducted for the outside world. Progress was quicker than initially predicted.
Just after midnight on 13 October, the first of the miners was hauled to the surface in a capsule barely as wide as a prop forward's shoulders. Over the following 24 hours, all were brought up and the world rejoiced. Whether or not the whole ordeal does anything to improve the conditions of miners around the world remains to be seen.
D is for Deepwater Horizon oil spill
On 20 April an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers. A leak developed from the explosion, sparking off the worst oil spill in history. For three months, oil flowed into the Gulf, causing massive environmental and economic damage.
The oil company responsible, BP, ended up as an object of hate in the USA. Once again, the cost of the manic pursuit of the dollar to the exclusion of all other considerations was thrown into sharp relief.
The spill had a severe impact on the environment, tourism, and on US-UK relations.
BP put in place a $20bn compensation fund, but the overall financial costs far exceeded that figure.
E is for Enda and Eamon, E1 and E2, Kenny and Gilmore
This is the last full year that both these men will have had to endure the burden of frontline opposition politics.
Enda put down a turbulent year. In January, dissatisfaction at his performance stood in the polls at 66%, despite playing with the wind at his back against a woeful government. By June, his generals decided it was time to move against him. An ill-thought-out leadership heave was put in train. The plotters thought all they had to do was show up and Enda was toast.
Richard Bruton was the chosen successor. The Brutonites were so sure of themselves they didn't even bother canvassing some of the bankbenchers. In the end, Enda triumphed, although the public remain nonplussed, with his satisfaction ratings still in the doldrums. At year's end, only 28% of those polled said they would like to see him as Taoiseach in a Fine Gael/Labour government.
Meanwhile, Gilmore spent the year looking angry. He does good anger. Right now, the public like anger. He is expected to have a good election.
F is for Facebook
This year, Facebook overtook Google as the number one internet site in the US. In Ireland, Google itself confirmed in November that Facebook was the most searched-for item on its search engine.
The social networking site now has 500 million members, 70% of whom are outside the USA. This year also saw the release of the Hollywood movie, The Social Network, which told the story of the founding of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. Six years after coming up with the idea, the pair now have a net worth of $8bn between them.
In October, Facebook officially opened its European headquarters in Dublin. Despite the wealth of the two boys, and their interest in this country, they have no immediate plans to contribute to the great bailout.
G is for general election, UK
The poll was held on 6 May and the burning issue was whether the British people wanted dull Gordon Brown, or the Tories' version of Tony Blair lite, Mr David Cameron. Both had forgotten the third man until Nick Clegg came running up on the outside.
When the votes were counted, the Tories were up nearly 100 seats to 306, Labour was down 91, and, surprisingly, the Lib Dems gained only six. Despite the victory, the Tories were 20 short of an overall majority.
The wind was with a Tories/Lib Dems alliance, but after 13 years in power Labour was not going to go gently into the dark night of opposition. Clegg and his people broke bread with both sides, and with old dogs Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson doing their damnedest to keep Labour in power, it looked for a while like Cameron was finished.
In the end, the Tories offered electoral reform, and against the instincts of most of his party, Clegg accepted. Cameron was invited by the queen on 12 May to form a new government. A gaping deficit has ensured it has been no bed of roses since then.
H is for Haiti
At 4.53pm on Tuesday 12 January, the earthquake struck. Within minutes, the poorest nation in the world was blown further back into history as up to quarter of a million people died and a further million were made homeless in one of the worst natural disasters of recent years. The poor quality of structural engineering accounted for much of the damage. The outside world, particularly the USA, found it had a conscience about the plight of the Caribbean's poorest relation, and much high-profile remedial work got underway.
The recovery has been painfully slow. By July, as much as 98% of the rubble had still not been cleared away. Over $3bn in aid has been pledged, but reconstructing the country will require far more time than money. Recent months have been blighted by an outbreak of cholera. Over 1,500 people have now perished after contracting the disease, and the pace of reconstruction has been further arrested. Political violence over the forthcoming presidential election has added to the general mayhem. You think you have problems?
I is for IMF
It was the end of the world as we know it. Through the first half of November, as the markets bombarded the country with bad stuff, the rumours grew that the IMF was lurking offshore. No way, Jose, was the word from government.
On 17 November, Brian Cowen told the Dáil "there is no question as was stated over the weekend, of a negotiation for a bailout".
The following day, Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan went on Morning Ireland to say that there was a bailout on the way.
There was much breast-beating thereafter. It was widely agreed that the nation's sovereignty had just been flushed down the toilet. The Irish Times editorial asked: "Was it for this the men of 1916 died?"
The IMF's chief honcho Ajai Chopra was greeted with open arms, the citizens pining for somebody, anybody, to show leadership. Chopper's IMF got together with the EU and the ECB to do what they could ASAP. Ireland was offered €85bn at an exorbitant 5.8%. Our leaders may have made fools of us, but Europe is now taking us for complete mugs. Only in Chopper we trust.
J is for Julian Assange
The founder of the Wikileaks site, which specialises in releasing information classified as confidential. In March, it released footage of a US airstrike in Iraq in which reporters were shot at. Other information from the Iraq war caused consternation in the US.
Then on 28 November, Wikileaks began disseminating massive realms of US diplomatic material from 274 embassies dating back over 40 years. There was much that could have been classified as of public interest and much that could not. There were titbits about Prince Andrew's "rude behaviour" abroad and how he made "inappropriate remarks" about foreigners. Chip off the old block, then.
Back on the home front, the most revealing info regarded opinions from the US embassy in Ireland that the Vatican was put out at being asked to co-operate with the Murphy Commission into Child Sex abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese. There was also word that Bertie Ahern believed that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were in on the 2004 Northern Bank robbery.
Poor old Assange was put through the ringer. He became a hate figure in powerful circles. He has been accused of sexual assault in Sweden, in circumstances that appear highly dubious. He ended the year on bail in the UK, awaiting an extradition hearing.
K is for kicking
As in kicking the can down the road, the jargon de jour of 2010. "Kicking the can down the road" took over from "we are where we are". Being where we are was no longer good enough, going forward. We had to do something about it. So we just kicked the can down the road.
The can-kicking cliché was appropriate for the year that was in it because it refers to the long-fingering of issues. As in long -fingering the crippling debt of the banks, the bailout and all that sorry stuff. Other cans being kicked down the road have included mortgage default, our continuing presence in the euro, and facing up to realities. At year's end, the abortion issue raised its head again, and you can bet your bottom dollar that that can will be kicked down the road well into the next decade, going forward.
L is for Lally, Mick
On 31 August, Irish acting lost one of its stalwarts and the country lost somebody who represented the sturdier and more virtuous traits of the national character. A generation knew him as Miley, the gormless farmer from Glenroe, but his talents were far greater than the typecasting suggests.
In 1975, as a young, unemployed graduate, he founded Druid Theatre in Galway with Marie Mullen and Garry Hynes. He went on to grace the stages of the world with Druid, and subsequently moved into TV soap opera, first with Bracken, and then its long running spin-off, Glenroe.
In public, he gave the impression that sure, wasn't it great that a simple fella like himself was here doing the bit of acting. The serious thespian was rarely wheeled out for chat show couch analysis.
His long-time friend Hynes spoke for many on the day he died.
"Mick Lally was a man without measure," she said. "He was my hero and I looked up to him."
M is for meteorological mayhem
Look up, it's raining ash! A dark cloud drifted over Europe on 15 April following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, deep in the interior of Iceland. Volcanic ash was introduced as the new harbinger of Armageddon. Air traffic was grounded for eight days initially, and sporadically thereafter. Early predictions were that the beast had been awakened and would not lie down for the foreseeable future. It represented the greatest disruption to European air travel since World War II, and delivered another economic blow at a time when this country, at least, had plenty to be going on with.
N is for nuptials
It was the celebrity wedding of the year – Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman. He is one of the greatest rugby players ever to grace an Irish jersey. She is an actor of some note, known across the land for her role in the RTÉ drama series, The Clinic.
So far, so celeb.
They tied the knot on 2 July in the tiny parish of Aughavas, Co Leitrim. From there, the wedding party, weighed down with testosterone-fuelled rugger buggers and the more sensitive souls of the thespian world, repaired to the exclusive Lough Rynn Castle to big it up.
The most notable feature of this celeb coupling was the good taste in which it was all conducted. There were no magazine deals, and the locals were not in any way snubbed.
Everybody had only pleasant things to say about the couple. "It's lifted the county," Clement Gaffney, the owner of the castle, told reporters on the day. "There has been no recession in Leitrim for the last three weeks while locals have been preparing for this." Don't it make your heart sing?
O is for O'Dea, Willie
On 18 February, the political world went into shock. A cabinet minister resigned as a result of his conduct in office. The poor unfortunate Willie O'Dea walked away from government over a controversy in which he suggested a political opponent owned a brothel. He compounded the false allegation by swearing a false affidavit saying he never said the said politician owned a brothel.
The previous May, Willie had told a reporter that Sinn Féin candidate for Limerick council Maurice Quinliven was involved in the oldest profession. Quinlivan sought an injunction. Willie swore blind he never said it. The Shinner sued for libel. A discovery order uncovered a tape with Willie saying that which he swore he didn't. Willie settled the case, but it wouldn't go away.
In the end, the Greens couldn't live with Willie. He sniffed the wind and jumped before he was pushed. The world mourned. Once Willie O'Dea was removed from frontline politics, it was inevitable that the country was heading for hell in a hand basket. Recovering from such a blow was just beyond the state's capacity at this perilous time.
P is for protests
Despite the gloom that descended on the country, there wasn't much in the way of protests this year. Two rallies were notable. On 3 November, an estimated 25,000 students took to the streets of Dublin to voice their opposition to a proposed increase in registration fees. For the most part, the protest was peaceful. A small group did break away and occupy the Department of Finance. The reaction from An Garda Síochána was to deploy riot gear, dogs and mounted officers. What unfolded – according to footage caught on YouTube – had all the hallmarks of police brutality. It also raised a pertinent question: is it now government or garda policy to get tough with anybody who voices protest in these turbulent times?
A total of 28 complaints were lodged with the Garda Ombudsman Commission and the investigation is ongoing.
Later that same month, another protest march took place, this time organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu). A crowd officially estimated at 50,000 – a figure highly disputed by the organisers – marched to the GPO. The marchers braved freezing conditions to make their feelings known. Then, in what must go down as a thoroughly Irish protest, many in the crowd booed the appearance of the organisers on the stage. Ictu's David Begg and Jack O'Connor were both given short shrift for what is perceived as the unions' role in us being where we are.
Q is for quicky jaunt to Marrakesh
Destiny of Johnny Ronan's impulsive flight of fun. How do you get over a public screaming match with Ireland's top model, in which she gives you a well-aimed kick up the arse? Why, you go to lunch with Miss Ireland and fly her off to Marrakesh for a bit of fun.
On Saturday 28 February, 52-year-old Nama star Johnny Ronan hooked up with his erstwhile squeeze, twentysomething Gilson, on the streets of salubrious Ranelagh. There, in public view, they firmly demonstrated that you can't buy class. A blazing row ensued.
The following afternoon, Johnny and Rosanna Davidson, the 25-year-old daughter of Chris 'Give your face a holiday' De Burgh, dined in Wicklow. Johnny said let's fly away, fly to the stars, and they did.
The jaunt made the papers and Glenda was put out, and who really gives a fig about these people and their goings on? The upshot was that Johnny decided it was time to step back from the business. Developers were getting a bad enough press without one of them effectively laughing in the face of the peasants' hardships.
R is for Ryan, Gerry
The news broke at around lunchtime on 30 April. The RTÉ broadcaster had been found dead in his Leeson Street apartment. His death was apparently due to a massive heart attack. He was 53.
There was an immediate outpouring of grief from the nation. His highly popular morning show had been on air since 1988. While his irreverent and even iconoclastic style of broadcasting meant that he would be sorely missed by his fans, the level of public mourning, led by RTÉ, was staggering. Ryan had been a great fixture in public life, but his passing hardly signalled the end of an era.
The real loss was to his family, including his five children, his estranged wife Morah and his partner, Melanie Verwoerd. Contributions from all in the week that followed indicated that on a personal level he had also been a larger-than-life character.
His funeral in Clontarf was attended by multitudes, and included a transatlantic broadcast of U2 singing 'With Or Without You' for their departed friend.
Earlier this month, the inquest found that cocaine had contributed to his death. There was also evidence that he was highly stressed out in the months before his demise. Many of the media elements who had eulogised him after his death lashed out at his drug use and lifestyle. Just as the eulogies had been over the top, so too was the shock and horror which followed the cocaine revelations.
S is for Script, The
At a time when exports are critical to the country, this Dublin band have been making a splash right across the globe. The three-piece from the Liberties in Dublin have had a great year in conquering the world of soft rock. Their second album, Science and Faith, was released in September and entered the British and Irish charts at No 1.
They have been hailed far and wide as the real thing. No less an authority than Bono has been promoting them abroad as the biggest thing to come out of Ireland since, well, since U2.
Bono isn't the only member of his family to big it up with The Script. His daughter Eve Hewson appears in the band's video for the single, 'For The First Time'.
The world is now their oyster, but the hope is that something a lot more edgier will emerge from austere Ireland in the coming years. Know what a'm sayin'?
T is for Tipperary hurlers
The hurlers of Kilkenny were en route to history in the first Sunday of September, about to lift the All Ireland title for an unprecedented fifth time in a row. Everybody said it was going to be so. But history hates to be taken for granted.
Along came the men from Tipp and a rare, classic game of hurling fell from the sky to produce the best All Ireland final seen in at least a generation.
At the end of a ferocious contest, the Munster team had won by eight points, as invincibility once more proved to be an imposter. The day, in all its pomp, circumstance, drama and emotional skydiving, showed the country at its best.
U is for Unionism's First Family, the Robinsons
Oh what fun we had. The BBC's Spotlight programme broke the story on 7 January. DUP leader Peter Robinson's MP wife, Iris, had had an affair with a teenager 41 years younger than her. The kid managed to start up a business with 50 grand, secured for him by his sugar mammy.
There were serious question marks over how the money was obtained.
The couple had long portrayed themselves as paragons of virtue, always ready to smite those who didn't live up to their highest moral standards, and now they were mired in a sex and cash affair.
It was revealed that at one stage Iris was on the point of suicide and Peter left her to attend to parliamentary business. Days before the Spotlight programme, Iris announced she was quitting politics.
Peter released a statement on the night of the airing. "I love my wife. I have always been faithful to her. In a spirit of humility and repentance, Iris sought my forgiveness. She took responsibility upon herself alone for her actions and I have forgiven her. More important, I know that she has sought and received God's forgiveness."
In reality, it could have happened to a bishop, but nobody ever believed it could befall such righteous souls as the Robinsons.
V is for vuvuzela
The favoured wind instrument of last summer's World Cup in South Africa.
The early fare was interesting because it included the trials and tribulations of England and France, both of whom struggled and ultimately burned out.
The perennial favourites Brazil were upended by Holland in the quarter final, but for once, the people's favourites triumphed.
Spain had long been the bridesmaids, but this time around they won a dour final in extra time. Back home, the country went ga-ga.
Off the field, the tournament lived up to expectations. Despite serious security concerns, there was very little violence.
Rumour has it that legislation will soon be passed in the Oireachtas to allow use of the vuvuzela to keep everybody awake during leaders' questions.
W is for the weather
For once, the endless talk thereof was justified. The year was bookended by big freezes. In January, there was outrage at the lack of preparedness for the snow and ice and general mayhem. Road transport was particularly badly hit, but the matter was under control as the relevant minister, Noel Dempsey, personally directed remedial operations. From his holiday location in Malta. Back home, Brian Cowen told the media that Noel was kept on top of the situation with regular bulletins.
By the time December's freeze came about, there was salt to burn, and the roads were kept in grip.
The deaths of at least three elderly people were attributed to fallout from the December freeze, but the hostile elements did induce a form of camaraderie that hadn't been witnessed in a long time.
X is for X factor
The suspicion is that the all-singing, all-dancing show peaked this year, with viewing figures in the UK hitting 15 million. But if it was the summit, then the view from there was only the pure finest for Irish eyes. Mary Byrne rocked the nation, arriving on stage from the checkout counter at Tesco's Ballyfermot store. She sang about how it was a man's world, but it ain't nothin' without a woman or a girl.
She fitted the programme's template for a narrative full of broken dreams, going all the way to the semi final on 5 December, only to exit under a cloud of controversy. Usually, at this stage of the competition, the public decides exclusively who makes it to the final. On the fateful day, a last-minute change gifted the four judges with the decision. Many saw this as a means to eliminate 51-year-old Mary from a competition that is avowedly ageist. She wasn't complaining, and is likely to begin a new, glittering career with a recording contract. She'll check out no more.
Y is for young life cut short
Daniel McAnaspie's body was found in a drain in Co Meath on 13 May. He had been stabbed six times. He went missing six weeks earlier after a party in Blanchardstown. He was 17 years of age, and had been in and out of state care since he was 10. He was still in care when he went missing.
The case highlighted in the most brutal terms the neglect of the state in dealing with the most vulnerable children. Following the discovery of Daniel's body, and a drip feed of information on how his case had been handled by the state, there was much breast-beating among politicians over the plight of vulnerable children.
At Daniel's funeral, Fr Peter McVerry said the neglect of the state had been a "major contributing factor" in Daniel's death, through its "under-resourced and dysfunctional childcare system".
The campaigning priest said the tragedy would provide momentum for the reform of the child care system in the country. Whether the political will now exists to ensure that the state lives up to its obligations to kids like Daniel remains to be seen.
Z is for Zeta Jones, Catherine
You're wondering what she did to merit inclusion, apart from her name beginning with a Z? Well, she showed up at JP McManus's pro-am golf tournament in Adare last July.
The event raises millions for charities in JP's Limerick fiefdom, but it really was a front for canonisation of the benefactor. For weeks beforehand, much media coverage concentrated on the great charitable instincts of JP, not to mention his modest and endearing personality. He recently had a new home built in Limerick, which constitutes the largest house built on the island since the days of the Ascendency. Unfortunately, he can only live there for six months of the year on account of his status as a tax exile.
Great man, pity about the taxes.
The Pro-Am went off well and included an appearance by Tiger Woods, who was willing to come out and play despite all the hullabaloo over his compulsive trysting.
Anyway, the main thing is Catherine was there to provide a Z for this piece. Hi Ho.
December 26, 2010
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