Eibhlin O'Neill's blog

The "thirty-year rule" is the informal name given to laws in the Republic of Ireland, that under the 1986 National Archives Act, allows certain government documents to be released to the public each December, thirty years after they were created. The latest release of Irish State Papers relate to 1987. Included in the papers is further information on the murky involvement of British security agencies in Irish politics. Part of which includes their close relationship with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), which is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in the north-east of Ireland.

Recently Tourism Ireland announced that 2017 has been the “best year ever” for overseas tourism to Ireland. The country attracted around 10.65 million visitors generating roughly €5.78 billion in revenue. Ireland has been innovative in exploiting its rich cultural history and great natural beauty over the years. 

Thousands of acres of blanket bog are to be restored across the island of Ireland and Scotland. European Union funding is going towards the five-year Co-operation Across Borders for Biodiversity (CABB) project, which is worth 4.9 million euro (£4.3 million) and is managed by the SEUPB (Special EU Programmes Body).

The Aran Islands (Irish: Oileáin Árann) are a group of three islands, Inishmore (Árainn Mhór/Inis Mór), Inishmaan (Inis Meáin/Inis Meadhóin) and Inisheer (Inis Thiar/Inis Oírr/Inis Oirthir), located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. Residents on the Aran Islands have raised concerns over recent years about the provision of transport services to and from the islands, with some services even facing threatened suspension. Now a new five year contract will guarantee daily ferry services to each of the three islands. 

A bronze replica of a statue of Irish writer and journalist Pádraic Ó Conaire (28 February 1882 – 6 October 1928)  has been unveiled in Eyre Square, Galway (Irish: An Fhaiche Mhór, Gaillimh) in the west of Ireland.  Irish President Michael D Higgins performed the ceremony. The original statue, by sculptor Albert Power, was removed for preservation eleven years ago and the replica was made using original drawings by the sculptor and a caste from a mould of the existing statue, which is now located in Galway City Museum (Irish: Músaem Cathrach na Gaillimhe).

Its been a good year for the reappearance of beaches on Achill Island (Irish: Acaill, Oileán Acla). It is an island off the coast of County Mayo (Irish: Contae Mhaigh Eo) in the West of Ireland. Earlier this year, after an absence of 33 years, sand returned to a beach near Dooagh. The sand had been washed away during storms in 1984, and then this year high tides deposited the sand back. 

Gerry Adams announced at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis (annual conference) this weekend that he is stepping down as president of Sinn Féin in 2018 and also confirmed that he will not seek re-election to the Irish parliament, the Dáil, in the next general election.  Gerry Adams has been the president of the Irish political party Sinn Féin since 1983. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast West constituency of the British parliament.

In this article in Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin it is reported that Denis Halliday, a former Irish UN official is to return the Presidents Medal he had recieved at Ireland's NUI university in Galway in the west of Ireland. This is in protest at the award of an honorary degree by the University to former Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Enda Kenny. Denis Halliday's actions are due to what he sees as Enda Kenny's failure to protect the neutrality and peacekeeping ethic of the Irish Defence Forces: 

Ireland has joined a growing list of countries that ban the use of wild animals in circuses. Many Irish local authorities already do not allow public land to be used by circuses featuring wild animals. Michael Creed, Irish Minister for Agriculture has signed new regulations which bans the use of wild animals in circuses and which will come into effect from 1 January 2018. The Minister said:

Wild Lights at Dublin Zoo is festival of light that is on from 3rd November 2017 until 7th January 2018. An enchanted lantern trail has been designed with beautifully crafted, giant colourful lanterns and illuminated sculptures inspired by wildlife. Silk lanterns will include those in the form of a pride of lions, orangutans, tigers, giraffe and monkeys that will light up the skyline. This festival of light also has a Chinese theme with displays of a 16-metre high porcelain elephant tower and a 30-metre long Chinese dragon.