Brown Bag Films: "Racism"

Animators at Dublin's Brown Bag Films have created a satirical infomercial that speaks to some of the prejudices festering in Irish society. From Brown Bag's website:

"Join Tina and Scott as they introduce the latest product to hit the Irish market.... Racism! Made in the style of an animated 'infomercial', Racism is a satirical examination of racist attitudes which sadly, have crept their way into Irish society."

This is a very clever short film (under 3 min in length) and worth watching. Click here for the page on Brown Bag's site where you can watch "Racism".

A Glimpse of Maynooth

On September 15, I arrived at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for my year as a Mitchell Scholar. In the three weeks since then, I've learned a lot about the town from local residents and my fellow students at NUIM.

Maynooth's population has grown by the thousands in recent years, up to around 11,000, because of the town's proximity to Dublin as well as the Intel and Hewlett Packard plants in the nearby town of Leixlip (which collectively employ over seven thousand people). While residents welcome this growth, they also have concerns--particularly in this time of economic uncertainty.

In the first place, the housing boom in and around Maynooth has not been accompanied by a parallel growth in services or complimentary facilities. While brand new housing and apartment developments are appearing in all directions, new schools, shops and other services are slower to arrive. In addition to the basics of cafes, banks, etc., the town does have five major grocery chains, a large shopping centers opened in 2005 and another on the way--opening toward the end of 2008. But residents nevertheless express that the medical and educational and even the shopping facilities are either overcrowded or simply lacking.

It seems that this trend is a problematic one in many of the small-but-growing towns around Dublin. And now, with economic crisis looming and many homes remaining unpurchased or even unfinished, residents are left wondering whether the services needed to accommodate the heightened populations in their towns will ever arrive.

The growth in places like Maynooth will surely continue, but builders of both commercial and retail property may be slower in developing big projects in the months ahead. Fears about the fate of foreign companies like Intel and HP also impact the doubts' about Maynooth's growth, with many residents here following the American bailout plan and economic news as if it determined their own tax rates and paychecks--declaring that the area would be decimated if HP or Intel decided to leave.

I'll be posting more information on foreign manufacturing and research centers in Ireland, from Apple to Intel to Pepsi, in the day ahead.

Unemployment rate reaches 6.1 percent

The Associated Press reported on Sept. 3 that the Irish unemployment rate climbed to 6.1 percent - the highest level since January 1999. Some analysts argue the deceleration of Irish economic growth over the past year is a result of the downturn in the U.S. The unemployment rate has also been raised by a large number of layoffs in the construction industry, as Ireland's recently booming housing market has begun to slow as well. Nevertheless, the AP reminds us, the current unemployment rate "remains distant from Ireland's pre-Celtic Tiger years, when double-digit joblessness and chronic emigration were the norm."

With both Europe and the U.S. experiencing rough economic times, climbing unemployment in Ireland only makes sense. Less foreign investment means less construction and less manufacturing...and therefore, fewer jobs. If the trend continues over the coming year, it will be fascinating to monitor attitudes surrounding immigration and the employment of resident aliens in Ireland. In a nation that is really just beginning to experience and adjust to heavy immigration, will prejudices against foreigners resonate in a time of economic hardship (as I've witnessed in parts of the United States)? This is a nuance of social interaction that I'll certainly be on the lookout for.