Get ready to wave them flegs - Lily Windsor's coming

[Eamonnca1]

... even if religious affiliation (perceived or actual) were somehow relevant, it does not provide any reliable guide as to voting preferences in such a referendum.

You must be new here.

[Evil Genius]

... even if religious affiliation (perceived or actual) were somehow relevant, it does not provide any reliable guide as to voting preferences in such a referendum.

You must be new here.

Very Good! 

Anyhow, you may substitute "infallible" for "reliable", then...

P.S. "Castle Catholics" aren't just a southern phenomenon 

[Banana Man]

heard on the 2FM this morning that the entire Garda budget for the year will be used up next month with the state visit of Lizzy and Obama - How the fu*k in times of severe austerity can this be justified???

[AbbeySider]

heard on the 2FM this morning that the entire Garda budget for the year will be used up next month with the state visit of Lizzy and Obama - How the f**k in times of severe austerity can this be justified???

Moronic statement considering all the tourism and exposure the country will get from both visits.

[Banana Man]

heard on the 2FM this morning that the entire Garda budget for the year will be used up next month with the state visit of Lizzy and Obama - How the f**k in times of severe austerity can this be justified???

Moronic statement considering all the tourism and exposure the country will get from both visits.

moronic my hole, there's chat Obama will be here for maybe 5 hours and no more, please tell me what tourism benefits will be derived from Obama spending 5 hours on the aul sod?

furthermore Lizzie is coming here, what tourism will that generate? will a flurry of brits come over to ireland to see their monarch that most wouldn't bother to see in their own town? it's not even the same currency so why would they blow euros in ireland when they can blow euros in spain and get guaranteed weather

this 'tourism and exposure' argument doesn't wash, i want you to lay out for me exactly what tourism benefits this will bring instead of using a high level term that is all too often bandied about without drilling down and breaking it down on how it will be achieved, who will these tourists be, when will they come and why....

[lynchbhoy]

great post by Aoise - I fully agree with all of that, usual round the houses daft reply from evil myles though doesnt detract from its accuracy or personal opinion!
There wont be any reunification while we have economic problems.

I dont actually care whether the queen comes or not, and I dont think that she can be held accountable for the actions of british soldiers because she is head of the armed forces any more than we can hold her accountable for child abuse at the hands of church of england ministers just because she is head of the COE.

But, I am wary/worried about the cost for security for both her and obama. I dont think that there will be any significant increase in tourism returns to cover the cost of this security.
Lets face it, if you were not Irish, would you come here given the crap weather, expemsive food and drink and also now hearing that there are bombs going off all over the country (this is what foreigners used to think). I wouldnt.

[AbbeySider]

...
please tell me what tourism benefits will be derived from Obama spending 5 hours on the aul sod?

furthermore Lizzie is coming here, what tourism will that generate? will a flurry of brits come over to ireland to see their monarch that most wouldn't bother to see in their own town?
..
...drilling down and breaking it down on how it will be achieved, who will these tourists be, when will they come and why....

Firstly, its not an argument, it is a fact.
Secondly, Im not really here to educate or break down things for you, but you can have a read of this to get an idea of how such visits boost tourism:

From transport.ie: (http://www.transport.ie/pressRelease.aspx?Id=296)

President Obama's visit welcome boost for tourism

The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, today welcomed the statement by the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, that he intends to visit Ireland in May.  "As the Taoiseach said, this visit by President Obama will be another great day for Ireland.  Coming so soon after the visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Ireland will have a golden opportunity to demonstrate its welcome to millions of potential visitors worldwide," said Minister of State Ring.

"I know that the tourism agencies will be pulling out all the stops to make the most of these visits to deliver a major boost for Irish tourism in 2011 and beyond.  Not only are Queen Elizabeth and President Obama the Heads of State of our two most significant overseas tourism markets, they are figures who attract coverage from across the globe, in every marketplace."

The Minister of State added "Tourism Ireland, the all–island body which promotes the island of Ireland as a tourist destination overseas, is already working hard to make the most of the Queen's visit to show Ireland at its best to the world as well as to potential visitors from Great Britain.  I am sure that they are already moving to bring more on board for the President's visit, particularly focusing on the opportunity to bring Ireland's attractions to potential US visitors.  Fáilte Ireland, which supports the tourism industry in Ireland, will be working closely with Tourism Ireland to make sure that our official visitors - and those who travel with them - experience the very best that Ireland has to offer."

The US is traditionally Ireland's second largest overseas tourism market.
In 2010, there were 935,000 visits to Ireland from US and Canada and, while overall 2010 numbers were down on 2009, the last quarter of 2010 saw a strong rebound, with the number of visits from North America up by 13.9%.
The Minister of State commented "The upcoming visits by both Her Majesty the Queen and the President will allow Irish tourism to secure and build on the recovery in our North American markets – as well as keeping Ireland in the eye of potential visitors from Britain and help drive renewed growth from that market".  Great Britain was the source of 2.7 million visits to Ireland in 2010.

"The forthcoming visit by President Obama is just one example of how the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, is highlighting Ireland's strengths to our overseas partners and is a strong vote of confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government.  I am sure that his US visit will bring more good news to Ireland ", concluded Minister of State Ring.

[armaghniac]

Whatever about the cost of security, I definitely do think there will be more tourism if these visits go well. you could pay for the advertising time that this achieves. Ireland is not as expensive as it was, hotels in particular have good deals. Expensive drink is only an issue if you spend a lot of your budget on drink, which is only a certain class of tourist.

[muppet]

moronic my hole, there's chat Obama will be here for maybe 5 hours and no more, please tell me what tourism benefits will be derived from Obama spending 5 hours on the aul sod?

We will be able to sell the air he exhales.

p.s. Did we really waste an education on you or are you just not finished yet?

[thebigfella]

heard on the 2FM this morning that the entire Garda budget for the year will be used up next month with the state visit of Lizzy and Obama - How the f**k in times of severe austerity can this be justified???

Good point rather than the Irish tax payers funding Lizzy's security we should ask her to pay it from the tax she takes out of your's/the North's/UK's pockets

[Banana Man]

...
please tell me what tourism benefits will be derived from Obama spending 5 hours on the aul sod?

furthermore Lizzie is coming here, what tourism will that generate? will a flurry of brits come over to ireland to see their monarch that most wouldn't bother to see in their own town?
..
...drilling down and breaking it down on how it will be achieved, who will these tourists be, when will they come and why....

Firstly, its not an argument, it is a fact.
Secondly, Im not really here to educate or break down things for you, but you can have a read of this to get an idea of how such visits boost tourism:

From transport.ie: (http://www.transport.ie/pressRelease.aspx?Id=296)

President Obama's visit welcome boost for tourism

The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, today welcomed the statement by the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, that he intends to visit Ireland in May.  "As the Taoiseach said, this visit by President Obama will be another great day for Ireland.  Coming so soon after the visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Ireland will have a golden opportunity to demonstrate its welcome to millions of potential visitors worldwide," said Minister of State Ring.

"I know that the tourism agencies will be pulling out all the stops to make the most of these visits to deliver a major boost for Irish tourism in 2011 and beyond.  Not only are Queen Elizabeth and President Obama the Heads of State of our two most significant overseas tourism markets, they are figures who attract coverage from across the globe, in every marketplace."

The Minister of State added "Tourism Ireland, the all–island body which promotes the island of Ireland as a tourist destination overseas, is already working hard to make the most of the Queen's visit to show Ireland at its best to the world as well as to potential visitors from Great Britain.  I am sure that they are already moving to bring more on board for the President's visit, particularly focusing on the opportunity to bring Ireland's attractions to potential US visitors.  Fáilte Ireland, which supports the tourism industry in Ireland, will be working closely with Tourism Ireland to make sure that our official visitors - and those who travel with them - experience the very best that Ireland has to offer."

The US is traditionally Ireland's second largest overseas tourism market.
In 2010, there were 935,000 visits to Ireland from US and Canada and, while overall 2010 numbers were down on 2009, the last quarter of 2010 saw a strong rebound, with the number of visits from North America up by 13.9%.
The Minister of State commented "The upcoming visits by both Her Majesty the Queen and the President will allow Irish tourism to secure and build on the recovery in our North American markets – as well as keeping Ireland in the eye of potential visitors from Britain and help drive renewed growth from that market".  Great Britain was the source of 2.7 million visits to Ireland in 2010.

"The forthcoming visit by President Obama is just one example of how the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, is highlighting Ireland's strengths to our overseas partners and is a strong vote of confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government.  I am sure that his US visit will bring more good news to Ireland ", concluded Minister of State Ring.

saying it's a fact does not make it a fact, you made a sweeping statement and i have asked you to explain it, i'm taking it you can't - the article you posted does not explain it, it is more generalisations without telling me who will come and why, furthermore the highlighting of British tourists will not happen, why would they go south to an over priced economy in a foreign currency with questionable weather.

[Banana Man]

moronic my hole, there's chat Obama will be here for maybe 5 hours and no more, please tell me what tourism benefits will be derived from Obama spending 5 hours on the aul sod?

We will be able to sell the air he exhales.

p.s. Did we really waste an education on you or are you just not finished yet?

again no attempt to explain it, a moronic comment to quote that other muppet (pun intended) about selling air

a dig at my education (an unfounded one by that matter) highlights your lack of ability to offer any backing to counter my original statement - feel free to have an attempt

[AbbeySider]

a dig at my education (an unfounded one by that matter) highlights your lack of ability to offer any backing to counter my original statement - feel free to have an attempt

Go read a book, good lad.

[Banana Man]

a dig at my education (an unfounded one by that matter) highlights your lack of ability to offer any backing to counter my original statement - feel free to have an attempt

Go read a book, good lad.

brilliant, so you can't back it up, good man, that's mature

[muppet]

moronic my hole, there's chat Obama will be here for maybe 5 hours and no more, please tell me what tourism benefits will be derived from Obama spending 5 hours on the aul sod?

We will be able to sell the air he exhales.

p.s. Did we really waste an education on you or are you just not finished yet?

again no attempt to explain it, a moronic comment to quote that other muppet (pun intended) about selling air

a dig at my education (an unfounded one by that matter) highlights your lack of ability to offer any backing to counter my original statement - feel free to have an attempt

Some shoulders are just too chipped.