What I Read This Week: Background hum of an approaching election grows ever louder

It wasn’t just the temperature drop of five degrees; all this week the end-of-summer vibes were coming on strong. Electric Picnic, which usually takes place at the end of August, came two weeks early (EP says the change was because of Kylie’s availability; I’d point to the clash with Coldplay’s four nights at Croke Park). But in any case it did add to that almost-back-to-school atmosphere, heightened by Friday’s announcement of the Leaving Cert results.
And, of course, there was The Rose of Tralee…
Anyway, The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, which I present, made its way to Stradbally for a live Electric Picnic show on Sunday. While our audience didn’t quite approach Kneecap levels of enthusiasm, we filled our marquee and got a great reaction. It’s always a pleasure to meet our podcast listeners, who seem to me to be a singularly well-informed and intelligent group of people. Obviously, I’m biased.
We had a lovely day in the sun at Stradbally. Not having brought my nausea tablets, I left before the Wolfe Tones went onstage and headed down the road to Kilkenny, where the city’s arts festival was closing with a thrilling performance in St Canice’s cathedral from Norwegian violinist Mari Samuelson (you can read Ed Power’s interview with her here).
Back in the office on Monday, we applied the finishing touches to the final episode of our Inside Politics podcast series Charlie vs Garret, about the great political rivalry of 1980s Ireland between Charles Haughey and Garret Fitzgerald. Another part of my job is writing some of the editorials that appear in the print edition every day (and online as “The Irish Times view on…) so we are always on the lookout for topics of interest. We watched with interest as Keith Duggan kept us abreast of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and also at how childcare providers have started opting out of the Government’s funding scheme.
Traditionally, this is one of the quieter times of year for news, but there were some fascinating stories around, not least the dramatic sinking of a super yacht off the coast of Sicily, which claimed the lives of seven people, including tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.
Closer to home, the background hum of an approaching general election grows ever louder and is perceptible underneath any significant political story, for instance the indication this week that the Government will delay the introduction of the new residential zoned land tax, a decision which Wednesday’s Irish Times editorial said “illustrates the glacial pace of fundamental reform” of Ireland’s housing market.”
Here’s my pick of what I’ve been reading this week. I hope you enjoy them.
1. Our Washington Correspondent Keith Dugganreports that former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered “an electrifying endorsement of Kamala Harris that would rank among the unforgettable passages of Democratic electoral history”.
2. The English Premier League is back which means Ken Early’s weekly column is indispensable reading. This week he applies his scalpel to the chaos at Chelsea, whose owners have spent four times as much on players as Real Madrid in recent years, without any appreciable improvement.
3. Who better to convey the surreal world of the Rose of Tralee than Patrick Freyne? Sample quote: “The floats upon which the 32 Roses sit and wave are themed. They include a rainbow float, a disco float, a Fireman Sam float, a Frozen float featuring Olaf the snowman (“I LOVE YOU OLAF!” shouts a small boy followed by: “I MISS YOU OLAF!”) and a mushroom-themed float in case you thought you weren’t tripping.”
4. Young Irish people are drinking less than preceding generations. In a thoughtful column, Finn McRedmond wonders whether Gen Z is simply replacing one addiction with another.
5. Denis Staunton in Beijing reports on how, faced with an ageing population and a declining birthrate, the Chinese authorities are seeking to make marriage easier and divorce more difficult.
‘The food was second rate. My soup was from a catering pack. My wife’s salad had brownish leaves of lettuce in it.’ Irish Times reader John Burns pulls no punches in his letter about the shortcomings of the ‘hospitality offering’ during his holiday in Donegal. Let’s be honest. We’ve all been there.
As the much-debated traffic restrictions on Dublin’s quays come into effect on Monday, it will be interesting to see how much they change the centre of the city for motorists, pedestrians and public transport users.