Month: January 2024

The Irish Examiner reported recently that 184 people died in crashes last year according to provisional statistics released by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). This compared to 155 in 2022 and was the highest figure since 2016.

There was a high proportion of male fatalities, a continuation of the trend seen in 2022 of an increasing number of pedestrian deaths, and a high number of fatalities taking place at night when there is less traffic on the roads.

There has been much talk, as there always is this time of the year, about the number of deaths on our roads. 2024 is already off to a bad start in that regard and despite all the campaigns by the RSA and the road traffic enforcement by An Garda Siochana, the carnage continues.

Not just in our jurisdiction either. A spokesperson for the PSNI described as particularly shocking the high number of deaths last year of some of the most vulnerable road users including motorcyclists and pedestrians in Northern Ireland. They’ve asked pedestrians to ensure they can be seen at night.

The same advice is being dished out down south. Minister of State with responsibility for road safety Jack Chambers, the RSA, and An Garda Síochána have urged road users to pay particular attention to pedestrians. There has been a steep rise in pedestrian fatalities over the past two years with the winter months being particularly dangerous.

I bumped into a friend of mine last week and he was talking about the same thing. A former rally driver, he spent twenty years driving at speed in a controlled environment but says he is nervous when driving these days because of the poor standard of driving and the lack of visibility of pedestrians and cyclists.

He gave an example of the Tay Road in Cobh. A hundred years ago, the gentry used this road to travel by horse and trap from the west side of the town to take tea with their friends on the east side. It’s a country road that went from being a dirt track back then to a busy thoroughfare which was never designed to take the volume of traffic it now has to cope with.

I lived on it for twenty-five years and in the early eighties it was still a country road. There were no footpaths or public lighting, but I walked it regularly for exercise. By the time we left it in 2006, I had given up walking there. Many new housing estates had sprung up over the years, so the road became much busier.

Eighteen years later, the traffic has increased even further but pedestrians and cyclists continue to use this space. It’s hazardous enough in the daylight but in the dark winter evenings and early mornings it can be difficult to see these people.

Chairperson of the RSA Liz O’Donnell is particularly concerned about this. She says statistics show that if a car hits a pedestrian at 60km/h, nine out of 10 pedestrians will die. If it hits them at 30km/h, nine out of 10 of them will survive so, the impact of speed on these pedestrian deaths is really critical.

She says research shows that people are not obeying the speed limits and the RSA is urging the Government to review all national speed limits. This is very often the cry in the aftermath of a fatal accident – enforce the speed limits to reduce road deaths. That’s fair enough but we need to be realistic about this approach too.

Under the legislation proposed by Jack Chambers, speed will be reduced on national roads from 100km/h to 80km/h, on secondary roads from 80km/h to 60km/h, and in built-up towns and villages it will be drop to 30km/h.

A speed limit of 30km/h might improve the life expectancy of pedestrians but expecting drivers to adhere to it is unrealistic. I don’t think it’s enforceable but even if it was, you can’t attribute all pedestrian deaths to excessive speed or driver error. Pedestrians and cyclists must also accept some responsibility and play their part in keeping themselves safe.

I was out driving recently at 7.45am. I know the precise time because I looked at the clock on the dashboard to check it after getting a fright. It was dark and I pulled up at a stop sign before entering the main road when out the corner of my eye I saw a movement. There was someone walking beside the car, and I had no idea where that person came from.

It was a cold morning, and he was well wrapped up in dark clothing from head to toe. If I had hit him, the finger of blame would have been pointed at me. After that, for the remainder of the short journey home, I took particular notice of the pedestrians and cyclists I met along the way.

I saw one guy on a bike and the rest, a dozen or so, were pedestrians walking into town or heading in the opposite direction for the train. They were all dressed in dark clothing. The cyclist was travelling on the footpath without a light, and he too wore dark clothes.

In spite of all the road safety campaigns, some people still aren’t getting the message. Even legislators like Ciaran Cannon TD for Galway East seem a little confused. When An Garda Siochana tweeted recently about a cyclist they stopped after dark for cycling without a light and for being dressed in dark clothing he issued a strange response:

‘Disappointing to see Garda Traffic make reference to clothing here. There is no legal requirement to wear any particular kind of clothing when cycling. Making reference to clothing creates confusion about the law and leads to victimisation of cyclists, often in court.’

I give up.

My daughter Vicki headed off to Australia on New Years Day this year with her husband and their three sons. Family members from both sides went to Cork Airport to see them off and there were some emotional scenes which the children couldn’t understand. As far as they were concerned, they were just going on a holiday so what were all the tears about?

It was cold and wet when we arrived at the airport, and we got a drenching as we hauled five trolly loads of bags and baggage to the departure lounge. If they had any lingering doubts about making the move, the weather certainly helped to reassure them that they were on the right track.

The kids had no concept of the distance involved, how far they were about to go or the length of time they would be away. Cooper, the nine-year-old told my son Colin that they could still meet up in Liverpool to go to the football matches.

They were full of excitement and couldn’t wait to get on the plane. Their first leg of their journey was from Cork to London, and I could imagine them landing in Heathrow and wondering where all the kangaroos had gone.

Vicki and Ian had spent a few years there before they had children and only came home when Vicki became pregnant for the first time. The third boy is now two years old, and they decided the time was right to give it another go.

They’ve gone to Brisbane which is where they were previously so they’re familiar with that part of the world. They also know what they are facing into, and they want the kids to experience the climate and the quality-of-life Australia offers. Their plan is to stay there for a few years and see how it goes and the best of luck to them.

It wasn’t an easy decision and I admire them for having the courage to take the plunge. There will be challenges. For one, Vicki is terrified of spiders and that’s one thing they’re not short of down under.

Australia has its fair share like the Sydney funnel-web spider who has highly toxic venom and large fangs that can even pierce through nails and toenails. According to Australia Geographic, it has a reputation for being the deadliest spider in Australia, and maybe even the world.

Found in New South Wales, they can wander in backyards and sometimes fall into swimming pools. They can be quite aggressive when threatened and their venom can attack the human nervous system and alter the functioning of all organs and, when coming from a male, can kill. Sounds cute.

A more common variety found widely in Australia is the huntsman. They are the big scary, hairy, black spiders that bolt out from behind the curtains. In reality, they are reluctant to bite and more likely to run away when approached and their venom isn’t considered dangerous for humans.

Despite their intimidating size, huntsman spiders can be an ally in the house as they help with pest-control by eating smaller insects. They may be harmless, but they are enormous. I’ve seen one up close and it frightened the life out of me.

It was galloping down the hallway in the place we were staying, and I heard it before I saw it. I say galloping because you could have put a saddle on this thing and its legs went on forever.

Despte harbouring all these creatures, the Australian authorities didn’t make it easy for them to enter the country. It was a lengthy application process with oodles of paperwork and interviews and once the visas were sorted there was still lots to be done. They had to find somewhere to live, secure employment, arrange schools for the children, sort out transport but they did it.

Some of their old contacts stepped up to the mark to help them out and I was surprised at how well organised they were before they even set foot on Aussie soil. Before they arrived, their new neighbours had invited them onto the neighbourhood WhatsApp group and helped them to settle in when they arrived. So, it’s been all good so far.

They’re not the only ones to take this step. According to The Times UK more than 21,000 permits were issued last year as young Irish people fled the cost-of-living crisis. The Australian Department of Home Affairs said 21,525 working holiday visas were granted to Irish citizens between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 — which is more than double the year previous when 10,491 were allocated.

At the peak of the recession, there were 12,847 visas allocated in 2008 and 8,416 in 2007. Travel experts are now anticipating a further increase this year, with higher salaries and a better standard of living enticing many young people down under.

It shouldn’t be any great surprise really and some experts say they expect the number of Irish people heading to Australia this year to increase by 30 per cent due to the opportunities in the jobs market there. The climate, better salaries, a more attractive cost of living and a better housing situation add to the lure.

While I’m delighted for them in their new adventure, it’s not all good news. It means I will have to make that trip again if I want to see them. The ink is hardly dry on their visas and my wife is already making plans. I’ve been there twice already, and I swore I would never fly that far again.

It’s not easy. Whatever way you cut it you’re looking at a long haul. About thirty hours travel time and when you arrive at your destination, you’ve got to deal with the jetlag. Not to mention the spiders.

Gangsters involved in organised crime in Ireland seem to be getting more violent. They’re also becoming more daring. Gunmen no longer lurk in the shadows waiting for their target to get out of a car or open the front door. They’re quite prepared to walk into a busy restaurant in daylight and shoot their victim as we saw in Dublin just after Christmas.

These guys place little value on human life. They occupy a world where brutality is normal, and the use of force is justified to protect their nefarious activities. But it is also a lucrative world. The illicit drugs market can generate eye popping fortunes for those prepared to take the risk of lengthy spells in prison or maybe even death.

They are motivated by greed and as long as there are vast amounts of money at stake, there will be those who will consider it a risk worth taking. The drugs issue has been a growing problem in Dublin since the early eighties. Now it seems that every town and village has been infected with this scourge and it’s difficult to see where it will end. But I have an idea.

I heard some worrying news on the BBC recently – well, worrying for me anyway. Apparently, because of climate change, we are going to see a lot more mosquitoes in this part of the world in the future, including the species known to carry and transmit the dengue virus.

Dengue is a tropical disease, but in the last few years it has arrived in Europe. Once known as break-bone fever, dengue viral infection can cause a severe headache, high fever, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands, and rash. Still, many people who are infected have no symptoms at all. In rare cases, however, dengue disease can be fatal.

The world’s worst dengue outbreak in 2023 was in a key dengue belt region, affecting tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh where the virus killed nearly 1,500 people with more than 291,000 infected.

The outbreak there was linked to extraordinarily wet monsoons and the dirty, stagnant water in which the mosquitoes breed. Warmer, wetter conditions linked to global warming are helping some disease-spreading mosquitoes to thrive. 

They’re getting closer. Another dengue-linked mosquito, called the Asian tiger mosquito has been caught in surveillance traps in the UK. That’s bad news for people like me who seem to be the preferred diet for these creatures. I can’t let my guard down for a second when I’m away or I will be eaten alive.

There has been a lot of research done about why some people are mosquitoes’ favourite snack. Gizmodo.com questioned why some people get ravaged by mosquitoes if they so much as take a walk at dusk while others can walk through clouds of the insects and not get a single bite.

There are many reasons why mosquitoes can’t seem to resist some people, but it starts with the types of people who attract mosquitoes in the first place. Although mosquitoes can smell blood for miles, they mostly locate their prey by tracking the carbon dioxide that animals exhale.

People who exhale more carbon dioxide are more obvious targets. There is also evidence that mosquitoes prefer women because their skin is thinner, allowing for an easier bite.

The World Health Organization has recently predicted that dengue will become a major threat in the southern United States, southern Europe, and new parts of Africa within this decade as mosquitoes continue to expand their range and take dengue virus along with them.

According to Bugpursuits.com mosquitoes can already be found in Ireland during the summer thanks to our mild temperatures and lush greenery. When the temperatures heat up, mosquitoes can be found here making life uncomfortable for humans and animals alike. The most common type of mosquito in Ireland is the house mosquito.

This species was first found in 2009 and is now present in many parts of the country and is known for its distinctive black and white stripes. I struggle to see mozzies at the best of times so I’m pretty certain I have never seen the black and white stripes.

The precautions we are advised to take when it comes to mosquitoes in Ireland, is to wear long-sleeved clothing, use insect repellent, and avoid stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed. There is an awareness programme currently underway in Cyprus advising residents there to avoid leaving old car tyres, jars, pots and anything else that can hold stagnant water lying around outside.

Cypriots have another plan too. Authorities there are battling an influx of disease-carrying mosquitoes by importing hundreds of thousands of the insects after being sterilized through radiation.

The battle is primarily focused on eradicating the Aedes aegypti variety of mosquito that has been found in large numbers on the island. While other but breeds are also in the firing line, these guys have been specifically targeted to prevent its potential migration to continental Europe. They can transmit dengue, Zika and yellow fever as well as West Nile virus.

The authorities collect and dispatch these mosquitos—both eggs and grown insects—to laboratories in Italy and Austria where they’re bred and separated into male and female.

The male mosquitos are then sterilized by being exposed to ionizing radiation at the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. About 100,000 mosquitoes are then brought back to the island every week so that they can be released for breeding. The mating won’t produce any offspring and as a result, the mosquito population diminishes.

If it works, the authorities won’t have to resort to potentially harmful and expensive insecticides to eradicate the pests and life should become more bearable for residents and visitors alike.

I wonder if a similar plan could be adapted for those involved in gangland crime?

Most of us, I suspect, are probably glad by now that Christmas is over. We can get back to normal. Back to eating regular portions too. Turkey and ham will be off the menu for a while after gorging ourselves on little else over the holidays. Apart, that is, from trifle, pudding, sweets, chocolates, biscuits and Christmas cake.

The gut needs a break but if you’re still feeling bloated, spare a thought for Michel Lotito who can’t have had it easy. During his lifetime, he was known as Monsieur “Mouth” Mangetout (“Mr. Eat-All”) and he ate large quantities of metal and glass. Gastroenterologists X-rayed his stomach and described his ability to consume metal as unique.

His diet since 1966 included 18 bicycles, 15 supermarket trolleys, seven TV sets, six chandeliers, two beds, a pair of skis, a low-calorie Cessna light aircraft and a computer. He is said to have provided the only example in history of a coffin, handles included, ending up inside a man. Mr Lotito died of natural causes on June 25, 2007.

I wouldn’t go as far as Mr. Lotito but if you feel like eating something different for a change, I have some suggestions. I came across a few nibbles on the Internet that may or may not tickle your fancy.

Bird’s nest soup sounds harmless enough and if you’re like me, you probably thought this was made from twigs and leaves etc but the truth is that the while Chinese do make the soup from the nest of the swift, the main ingredient is the bird’s actual saliva.  

The saliva has a rubbery texture and is produced by the glands under the tongue, and they use it as a glue to hold the nest together. The nest then hardens when exposed to air.

Many diners are willing to spend small fortunes on this soup as they believe eating it will help them maintain their youth as well as giving them a long healthy life and a strong body. The same can’t be said for the poor swifts though because they are on the endangered species list and consuming these nests is reducing their long-term prospects for survival.

If that doesn’t whet the appetite, then you might want to try some Casu Marzu. A catchy name but before ordering it you should know that the words Casu Marzu translate to ‘rotten’ or ‘putrid’ cheese. It is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that comprises of living insect larvae – that’s maggots to you and me.

This sheep’s milk cheese is basically Pecorino, which has had the larvae of the cheese fly introduced into it. Fermentation occurs as the larvae digest the cheese fats, and the texture becomes very soft with some liquid seeping out. The cheese has to be eaten when the maggots are still alive because when they are dead it is considered to be toxic.

Since the larvae can jump if they are disturbed, diners have to shield their eyes while eating it. Health issues have arisen in relation to Casu Marzu, including reports of allergic reactions and the danger of consuming cheese that has advanced to a toxic state.

There’s also the risk of intestinal larval infection to consider. The dish is illegal in many countries because of the fatal consequences associated with it but is available on the black market if you feel tempted.

If you do succumb to the temptation, then it might be no harm to wash it down with a cup of coffee, unless you live in Indonesia that is. They drink Kopi luwak which is made from coffee beans plucked from civets’ poop. The civet is a nocturnal cat-like creature found in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. It has a long tail like a monkey, face markings like a raccoon, and stripes or spots. It only eats the ripest coffee cherries, but its stomach can’t digest beans inside the cherries, so they come out whole and then used to make coffee.

If coffee isn’t your thing, then you might prefer a glass of mice wine. As the name suggests, it is made out of newborn dead mice that are placed in the drink for 12-14 months before it is served. Reportedly quite potent and those who drink it, get drunk quickly.

Baby mice wine originated in China and gradually became popular in Korea and other Asian countries. Traditionally, it was used as a magical potion for treating health issues and it was believed it could cure any ailment from liver problems to asthma.

If that’s too strong, then snake wine is another option. It’s a rice wine bottled with a venomous snake with a slightly pink colour because of the snake blood and it is also believed to have medicinal purposes.

The snake is left to steep in the rice wine for many months to let the poison dissolve. Ethanol neutralizes the venom so it’s not dangerous. This wine originated in Vietnam where snakes are thought to possess medicinal qualities but has spread to other parts of Southeast Asia and Southern China. 

Snake wine shouldn’t be confused with the potentially more dangerous snake blood wine, made by slicing the belly of the snake to let the blood drain into the wine and served immediately.

After having any of the aforementioned delicacies you might be inclined to burp. Not surprising considering what’s lying around in your stomach, but your fellow diners might not appreciate that unless you happen to be in Egypt. It’s considered extremely friendly to burp loudly after a meal in that part of the world. It shows the diner really enjoyed the food, and the chef will accept it is as a token of appreciation.

A word of caution. If you try that at home, you might not get the same reaction.