Looking at the bigger picture

Yes, they make us laugh. Yes, we may have cringed a bit - ok, a lot - when they first appeared on YouTube and later on the Late Late Show. But Crystal Swing’s latest breakthrough is astonishing for a number of reasons, not least that most commentators are completely ignoring the bigger picture.

They’ve featured in this newspaper a number of times now, and Crystal Swing have managed to do something this week that really is newsworthy: they’ve reached an audience of about 4.8 million viewers in the US, and will soon be seen on TV screens across the world, in many countries where The Ellen Show is syndicated.

The family group were flown to LA for filming by Tourism Ireland, according to reports, at a cost of €3,000.

Responses from our Facebook page to the move and the reported cost included “waste of money”, “why are they famous anyway” and “why don’t we go back to the days of pretending The Quiet Man is an accurate depiction of life in Ireland to rake in the tourist dollar?”

If you’ve watched the clip of Mary, Derek and Dervla, it’s possible that you were a bit bemused as to why Mary brought Ellen a bottle of Jameson and started rabbitting on about Midleton, Blarney Castle and the sights of Cork and Dublin.

While Crystal Swing’s act may be rather old-fashioned, their instinct for PR and their use (however inadvertently) of new media to promote first themselves, and now Cork, has been absolutely spot on.

And, while our readers are entitled to their own opinions, it’s clear that this type of lateral thinking is what’s going to keep Ireland to the forefront as a tourist destination.

The naming of Cork as a Lonely Planet must-see destination has been accoladed to the heights by everyone from your local barman to the Lord Mayor, who can see the money rolling in already.

But the ascent of Crystal Swing and their canny, and very patriotic, use of the time they got – for free – on a top-rated US show is one of those lucky breaks that don’t come around very often.

Tourism Ireland’s reported investment of €3000 for a slot of about eight minutes is peanuts compared to the what they’d have paid for that same space with the same audience in advertising rates.

‘Innovation’ is one of those words the Government keeps bandying around. Innovation, innovative thinking, thinking outside the box, originality, etc, etc.

At times, we need reminding that ‘innovation’ is not an industrial sector and is merely one ingredient in making a particular sector successful or viable.

Tourism Ireland is one of those rare State agencies that actually understands the bigger picture – marketing Ireland abroad in a time when the global economy is on its way up again and ours is still in the doldrums makes sense. Reel ‘em in any way you can and then, once they’re here, show them we have more to offer than they originally thought. Lonely Planet must-sees, crystal swingers, Jameson drinkers, and lots more besides.

Appointing Gabriel Byrne as cultural ambassador may have been unnecessary… Mary for High Consul, anyone?

Rights and responsibilities

This was written two weeks ago in response to the difficulties locally with local authority workers on strike.

We live in an age where everybody knows their rights. My mother, a teacher, has come home with tales of five-year-olds who are aware of their rights, and use them as a threat. And they’re not unusual. In post Celtic Tiger Ireland we’re all very well aware of what’s owed to us, how we should be treated, and our personal dignity.

But what about our responsibilities? It’s very often forgotten that ‘rights’ is an incomplete term when the word ‘responsibility’ is omitted. We all have human rights, but equally we have human responsibilities. Most of them are based on respecting other peoples’ rights. 

At the moment, there is a type of warfare going on in Ireland in which some people are trying to assert their rights at the expense of others.

In this week’s paper, Eoin Weldon reports on the frustration being felt by local politicians at the fact that they can’t do the jobs they were elected to do. The local representatives quoted have a right to be allowed to do their work but, more importantly, the people they represent have a right to that representation. That’s a pretty fundamental right.

Also this week, Christine Allen writes about the Cork people who are being denied their legal right to passports.

Behind both stories we see the right to a living wage come to the fore – some CPSU members are having a very tough time making ends meet since the pay cuts of last year. I heard of one chap who, since the pay cuts, is earning €1600 per month. His mortgage (which he qualified for under his previous, substantially higher, salary) is €1400 per month. Nobody can live on that, and I feel genuinely sympathetic to him and his colleagues who have been put in that position.

The CPSU are right to be angry. But we’re all angry. Most of us have taken pay cuts, while many have lost jobs, or even homes.

What about the private sector workers on short hours who can’t get appointments at their local social welfare offices because civil servants are on strike? What are they supposed to do? Strike action is not going to solve their problem – they won’t go on strike, because they are glad they have a job, and they will do nothing to jeopardise it.

A social welfare officer recently told an acquaintance of mine on a three-day week that he didn’t qualify for any payments – because he wasn’t actively seeking work. Patently incorrect, but where should he go for help? His local councillor? Well, he could – but she won’t be able to get anywhere either.

What about people who have jobs, with start dates, abroad, who can’t get passports and take up their positions? Where should they go for help? The passport office? They could – but they will be so long queueing that their job will be filled by the time they get their travel documents.

As we’ve all been told by teachers throughout the ages, two wrongs don’t make a right. Equally, rights do not exist without corresponding responsibilities. Margaret Thatcher once said that society did not exist. If things keep going the way they are, soon, she might be right.

 

Mad Hatters' Ball

Firstly, thanks to everyone who helped out with the Mad Hatters' Ball. It was a great night, with some amazing effort made by people who came along. Photos are on www.facebook.com/corkindependent, but here's the winner Amy Cole:

Amy's also a model with Lockdown Model Agency and she will definitely benefit from the prize, no doubt she has a great career ahead of her!

Thanks to Cathy Lawson, Aisling Kelleher, Miki Barlok and Julie Cobbe who judged, and also to the Savoy Theatre, Dave Mac for hosting, and DJ Peter Bowles who got everyone in the mood. Also thanks to Hopkins Communications for the drinkies and to all the other sponsors.

I got my itinerary for Haiti yesterday and will post it just as soon as I get time. For now, we are working on bringing out a bumper edition of the Cork Independent with an exclusive 24 page supplement on Cork Fashion Week. I'm quite excited as it's very different to anything I've previously done, but it's looking fantastic so far.