Car and Driver in scandal rocked Ireland

If i were a tourist i certainly would not like to be driving in Ireland at the moment as the detours that you have to make due to the flooding take you down many narrow and winding country roads that are not used to this heavy traffic.In many areas the flooding is beginning to recede but there are areas where it is still actually getting worse due to the release of water from under pressure dams etc. It will be a long time before we get over this one. I have been fortunate to live in an area where we have not been exposed to this flooding and i really do feel for those people who are affected. The Irish people have once again shown their generosity to those in need and the donations to the Red Cross and the St Vincent De Paul charity have been extraordinary. The voluntary assistance from neighbours and the community at large in helping those in trouble has been admirable and people have worked around the clock putting up flood barriers and evacuating people from their homes. Neighbours have taken in families and housed and fed them as they had to leave everything behind them as the flooding was so sudden. This type of thing is out of the ordinary for us and these floods have been unprecedented. In the past we have rallied mainly helping those in need in other countries when they have had their disasters but i do not remembr any time when we had such a large scale disaster here. I hope it is a long time before we see another one but with the way our climate has changed i would not be too hopeful.If i lived in an area that had been flooded this time i would be very nervous.
Thank you for your comments on my article about the child abuse scandals. I think that now that the flood gates have opened we will hear more and more but the main thing is that those who are inclined to do these things will know that they are not as safe as they used to be. No longer will it be acceptable for any organization or institution to make their own rules on how to deal with reports of sexual abuse. No longer will they be able to say....he is one of ours...we will deal with him. The law stands the same for all of us....with no exceptions. Anybody trying to cover anything up from now on will be guilty of a crime and the law will deal with them as criminals.It is important to keep in mind that these abusers, paedophiles and perverts, are not only among the religious groups. They are in the sporting bodies, they are in the schools, they are in the boy scouts and the girl guides and the swimming organizations and football clubs. They are anywhere that they think they will find an opportunity and we should always be alert. It is not a pleasant thought to think that the majority of abuse happens still in the family home. The abusers are cunning and usually above suspicion. They can be a family member or a relative. They are usually people who seem to love children. It does not mean that we have to have to treat everybody with deep suspicion but if we notice anything, especially any change in the behaviour of a child we should be on the alert. If a child gives the slightest indication that there is something wrong we should try to find out what it is. If they seem to be wary of somebody or if they make a complaint about somebody we should listen to them. For too long nobody listened and children were told not to repeat such horrible accusations even by parents. Listen to them and try to find out more no matter who they point the finger at. If there is an accusation then you need to talk to somebody who is qualified to help you to do whatever is necessary. Get advice before you confront anybody. Accusations are not always correct and there may be an underlying reason for a false accusation so professional assistance is needed when handling these. They might talk more freely to someone other than you, maybe their doctor, but listen to them. These things do not happen to them without a change occuring in them. They are growing up in a difficult world, a dangerous world. They need our help and protection. Now we know from experience that we relied on many people we should not have relied on. We trusted blindly. We were wrong to do that. Let it not happen again.
If you have any comment please feel free to share.

Child Abuse Scandal in Ireland

The report of the Commission of Investigation into child abuse by the clergy in the Archdiocese of Dublin finally released its findings yesterday and the Catholic church has been rocked to its very foundations here in Ireland. I am not one for joining in witch hunts but neither am i one to condone the sick behavior of clerics who used their position of privilege to abuse children. The struggle of those who were abused down through the years and who fought this battle to bring the church to account has to be commended. They were fobbed off for years by people in a position to help them and the excuse has been that it would have done more damage to the reputation and the assets of the church than was wise to allow so they tried to cover it up by moving these sick people around to different Parishes where they were free to continue their abuse of innocents. It was never going to work long term but they did get away with it for years and now the day of reckoning has finally come, and it is not over yet. It turns out that our police force were also involved in that they had at times dealt with complaints from victims by referring them directly back to the church rather than follow them through themselves as they should have done.Now there is an internal police force investigation also. Many of these abusers are dead and gone but not all of them and there is no doubt that there will be a follow-up procedure where evidence exists and there will be prosecutions. The main task now is to put in place legislation and procedures that will ensure that this cannot happen again. Unfortunately this takes time but the sooner the better.
Where the church stands now and how they can recover from this is the big question. I really do feel sorry for the good men in their ranks and how they can now carry on in the face of this terrible shame is going to be a major task. The Arch Bishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has been a ray of light and hope in this dark hour for the church. He has braved the media and some of the interrogations have been way above and beyond the bounds of reasonable but he has been humble and expressed his deep sorry and sense of shame at it all and has done his utmost to assist in every way to get to the root of it all. This man has not held back and sometimes seems to stand alone. We need more like him if we are to survive this shameful episode in the Catholic Church in Ireland. There is no doubt that the church in Ireland has its enemies and what a great opportunity this is for them now to try to finish them off. Is there any hope for the church now?
The story of Jesus when he explained the work of the potter comes to mind. The potter makes his clay and when this is done he shapes and moulds it. If he gets it wrong he does not try to patch it up. He breaks it down completely and then starts from the begining again. I think the church tried to keep on patching things up and now maybe it is all being broken down so that they can start afresh and learn from their mistakes. Maybe that is what is about to happen.
It is important to remember at this time that down through the years the church and many of its good men did an enormous amount of good work here in Ireland and elsewhere. Power became its great enemy and the abuse of that power. Now the power is gone and maybe we can have a church once again like the one intended by Christ. I would like to think so.
I would like to hear your comments and maybe where the church is at in your country right now.

Happy Thanksgiving from Ireland

What a wonderful celebration Thanksgiving is and what a nice and proper thing to take this special day to pause and consider all of our blessings. It is a time for reflection and one in which i, someone who does not live in the USA, can join with you and count my own blessings. I have many friends in the USA and feel privileged to be in that position. I also have three sons and their families over there and i know that they are also celebrating this great feast day at this time. It is a time when we can put our troubles aside and enjoy the moment. Have a great day and may these feelings last.

Chauffeurdrive Ireland. Flooding continues.

Sadly the situation remains the same as the flood waters continue to rise in many areas with continuing rain and stormy weather. The forecast now seems to indicate that this wet spell will run for a few more days and that even after that the flood waters will not dissipate for quiet some time. One of the main problems is that the main waterway, the mighty Shannon River, is a long meandering river running through flatlands with three major lakes along the way. This makes it difficult for it to empty into the sea as quickly as is needed. In other words, it cannot handle the present amount of water it has to deal with. The amount of people who have been rendered homeless is alarming and the destruction to their homes is heartbreaking. Many of these homes are new and were built in areas where they should never have got planning in the first place. The huge development in our country during the Celtic Tiger years just gone by has resulted in this haphazard development and little thought was put into the planning. Now we are paying the price. It looks like being a long winter for us here.
Hopefully the New Year will bring improvement in many areas and if we can see an end in the not too distant future to this present recession then that would be a start. I am very hopeful as i seem to be getting a reasonable amount of enquiries, and that is a good sign. Ireland is still a wonderful place to visit and there are so many people with Irish blood in their veins that we never need worry too much about people losing interest in coming here. A car and driver/guide is something that will always be in demand and my chauffeurdrive business will therefore continue to benefit.
Thanksgiving is something that we do not celebrate here in Ireland but we do realise that it is very much a part of American life. I would like to extend my best wishes to all my American friends and let them know that we will be thinking about them and their big day tomorrow. Have a great day and take care.Enjoy that turkey.

Global Warming .Private Driver in flood devastated Ireland

I have been in the chauffeurdrive/Tour Operator business now for a good number of years and i have never seen anything like the disastrous weather we have been experiencing here in Ireland over the past few days. There are regions in the south and west and parts of the midlands that are destroyed by the flood waters as torrential rain of unprecedented levels caused rivers to burst their banks and new rivers to appear where there were never any rivers before. Hundreds of millions of damage has been done and thousands of homes destroyed by the waters and for so many people who were already reeling from the recession this was the last thing they needed. How often tragedy strikes at Christmas time. I wrote a few days ago in a previous blog about the four young girls, all students in University college Galway, who were killed in a car accident when they ran head-on into a truck in driving rain the other night. A fifth girl is still in a critical condition in hospital. This was the first major tragedy of this particular bad spell of weather and amazingly no other life has been lost to date. God help those families and your prayers for them at this time would be much appreciated. There will be no happy Christmas for hundreds of other families now due to this flooding and it will surely mean the end for many businesses who will never recover. People in areas where floods have occurred in recent years are the worst off as, due to the huge increases in their insurance premiums because of previous claims, they now have no insurance. The city of Cork was the worst hit as the river Lee burst its banks and engulfed the town centre along with many other areas of the city. More than half the people in the city have no water supply due to contamination and electricity is also gone in many areas. I am fortunate as the area i live in has not been badly affected and my own house is on an elevated site but my county is one of the worst hit areas. We do not have a river close by and this has also saved us. We have plenty of flooded fields and our journeys have been curtailed but outside of that we have been blessed. These floods are new to us and it has been a long time since anything like this has happened in Ireland. Global warming has to be a major factor in this and there is no doubt that our climate has changed in recent years. When will we learn our lesson? I think that will happen long after many more major catastrophic events, and many a lot worse than we are experiencing here right now. We were given a beautiful world to enjoy ....and to mind. We are prepared to do the first bit....to enjoy....but to mind? Some do.....lets try a little harder. Maybe the little bit we do ourselves will make a difference.
I would love to hear your comments....please dont be shy.

Chauffeur/Private Driver West of Ireland

My last report on our disastrous match result with France where we ended up losing a World Cup Soccer place in the finals in South Africa next year as a result of a goal that was allowed and never should have been has seemingly ended in frustration as FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, have stated very clearly that there will be no replay. They have done themselves and the game of soccer no favours and when they speak about fair play in the game in the future their words will ring very hollow. There is no doubt that it suits them a lot better for the larger nations to make it to the finals as financially they are worth a lot more to them. Poor little Ireland, with our small population, cannot offer the same financial support and we are the scapegoats on the receiving end of this shamefull situation.The less said the better. The one thing i would like to add is my warm congratulations to our team for their brave performance and my sympathy for them at the loss of this great opportunity to play the game on a world stage. They did us proud and would have continued to do so in South Africa if they had been given the chance. Well done lads....you could not have tried harder.

Football. France V Ireland and the hand-ball.

Ireland today is in a state of mourning after our team were robbed of the chance of securing a place in the World Cup Soccer finals in South Africa next year. A controversial goal by the French has started what now looks like an international furore as soccer fans all the world over vent their anger at the French forward Thiery Henri. The ball was handled by Henri prior to him crossing it to a fellow player who knocked it into the net. The hand ball incident was clear for all to see , except the referee and linesmen. The TV replay is now being shown all over the sporting world and Henri has openly admitted that he did handle the ball. Ireland are now asking FIFA, the governing body for world football to stage a replay. Ireland have also asked the French to agree to the same as the whole business of fair play in sport has been something they all have been trying to promote. If the French go to the World Cup as a result of a player cheating the referee it will not do a lot for the game and it certainly will not do a lot for the good name of French football. Henri was always one of my favourite players but he has done himself a lot of damage by this silly act. The consequences are huge and the dreams of many players and fans in this country lie in tatters. Having a play-off, even if we are beaten in that, would not leave us with this bad taste in our mouths and it would do the image of the game a lot of good. I genuinely believe that Henri regrets what happened but he did purposely handle the ball and he will have to live with that. In recent years the French teams have added a lot to international football. They did it by playing lovely attractive and honest football. Now have they the decency to hold their hands up and offer football fans everywhere a chance to see a team worthy of their place in the finals progressing to the next stage. I hope that they do. Then i can put Henri and his team back up on my list of great footballing nations where they have been for many years.

Tour Operator Ireland. Tracing your ancestry.

There are more than 40 million people in the USA with Irish blood in their veins and many of them come here in the hope of finding some information on their roots. Some of them come quiet well prepared as they have been fortunate enough to have been able to find enough basic information to give them the leads they need to find what they are looking for. Some families have kept records handed down from their parents and grandparents and with this information they have been able to trace living relatives here in Ireland. I do not get involved in tracing family history for people before they come here but i do enjoy helping them investigate when they get here. It is exciting to travel to relevant areas and to try to pinpoint old homesteads or graveyards or whatever and when you do have success it is most rewarding. Sometimes just knowing the area they came from can be rewarding as old neighbours have a recollection of these people and may be able to direct you to people in their own family that they left behind. I have been fortunate to have been involved in many successful searches and when you do find living relatives for people who thought they would never find any it is indeed wonderful. Get as much information as you can before you come here and enjoy the search when you arrive.
As a chauffeurdrive tour operator/guide my job can entail doing many different things. A good general knowledge is essential and my educational background plus my history of travelling up and down the length and breadth of this country has stood me well. I have a good knowledge of our history and our political scene and i am also a native Irish speaker and i think that this adds to what i offer. Private drivers/tour guides who just have it all from books and nothing else do not operate the same way as i do, and indeed much of what i do is not what you normally find with touring companies. I love finding new" out of the way "beauty spots where the buses will not take you, places you will not find in the guide books. A Dave Hogan tour will provide you with a different experience and one that you will remember. Come and see for yourself.

Chauffeur Drive Ireland. Driving in Ireland.

Life on the road in Ireland does have its risks and even as someone who does it for a living i always make sure that i stay fully alert. I suppose i grew up here and have become used to them and the roads back then were even worse than they are now but there was a lot less traffic in those days. It was not possible to drive at the speeds that people drive at nowadays either and in many ways it was much safer. Cars were made of better stuff and if you hit a wall the wall was more damaged than the car. Now most of the cars we drive are like tin cans and you have little chance if you hit anything solid. When tourists rent a car they generally go for an economy type and these offer little protection. My transport is of the standard required if you are to have a chauffeurdrive licence and these cars are much safer. We also have a lot of foreigners on our roads who are not used to driving on the left hand side and that also creates new problems.I chose this subject today because my mind is very much on the news of a horrendous accident yesterday evening when five young girls, all students in Galway, were involved in a collision with a truck not too far from Galway city. Four of the girls were killed and the surviving young lady and the truck driver are both in hospital and i do not know how badly they are injured. This accident happened on a main road between Galway and Claremorris but this main road has some very dangerous accident black-spots. Even our main roads here can be extremely narrow in places and when you get off them and onto our secondary roads you really do need to know how to drive. My life as a private driver/tour operator does have its dangers and the cost of insurance is high. If you have any accident record it gets really expensive but thank God i have a clean record and no penalty points ever. I say that with gratitude and do not intend to get overconfident because of it and i treasure my record and want to keep it that way. If you are thinking about coming to Ireland my advice would simply be....if you can afford your own private driver or chauffeur then that is the way to go. If you run the risk of driving yourself then you not only run the risk of being seriously injured or worse but maybe even a slight accident will cost you more than the difference between a private driver and a rental car. It is also so much more relaxing to be able to sit back and allow a qualified person with experience of Irish roads , and Irish driving, to chauffeur you around.
Our weather continues to be miserable, wet and windy and cold, but thankfully i am not touring at the moment. This is my time for planning next years tours with potential clients and when i finish this message i have to make a call to a lady in the USA who wants to come over for two weeks with her husband and another couple in June 2010. I will have a very nice plan for them and if they are lucky they will say "Yes".
Talk to you again soon. If you have a comment please write here.

Chauffeurdrive Ireland...Private driver Ireland west

I am pleased to say that my article about the best time to come to Ireland was well received. I can only add that i think that there is never a bad time to come here and that Ireland never disappoints. We are settling into our winter now and it has become a little colder but nowhere near freezing yet. At the moment we are experiencing a mix of wild and wet and sunny. Today was a lovely bright and sunny day with blue skies. The forecast had been for a very showery and unpleasant day but that did not materialise. It is always nice when they get it wrong and the day is nice instead of otherwise. Now is the time for the sweater and the overcoat and hat or umbrella as you have to be prepared always in case the rain comes down. We have been having much heavier rain than we used to have or at least it appears to be that way. Maybe i have a selective memory and can only remember the lovely sunny days when i was a kid. I love coming home on a cold winters evening to a nice warm fire and a good Irish stew. Maybe that is something we can talk about again as Irish stew comes in many different forms depending on who is making it. You sometimes see recipies with Guiness added but that is not something that was common at all. It is one of those modern inventions and maybe just another way to sell the black stuff. If you are interested i will tell you how i make an Irish stew....and it does taste good.
Right now i am hungry and will make an exit on that note.
Maybe you have some ideas for me?

Travelling to Ireland next year?

Many people ask me what is the best time of the year to come to Ireland. The answer to that question can be a little difficult. It would be easier to tell you what might be the least attractive time to come here. First of all let me tell you what our overall weather is like. Number one....we do not get the extremes that many countries have to endure. We do not get terribly low temperatures and we do not terribly high temperatures. Everybody knows that we get our fair share of rain but it can be difficult to forecast in advance just when that might happen. Another important factor to consider is the daylight hours situation. In the winter daylight is from 8:00am approx to 16:00pm. In the middle of June it gets bright from 4:00am and stays bright until 23:00hrs. If you are in a position to be flexible with your holiday time then i would recommend anytime from April to the end of October but you have to take your chances with the weather as it can rain just as easily in the middle of the Summer as in April or October. You really begin to notice the stretch in the days from May onwards and even in October you do have nice long days. Daylight hours are important as there is nothing nicer than a stroll on a beautiful cool Summer's evening with the sun still shining. The early mornings are also beautiful and a early walk before a good Irish breakfast is another special treat.Now i have to admit that we do get a good deal of rain here but there are not many days when it rains all day and most of the time we just have showers. I can honestly say that i have never had a tour that was ruined by rain and most people take the Irish weather in their stride. Many really enjoy the temperate climate and love to walk in the rain. As a private driver and tour guide i have good reason to appreciate the climate here as travelling in a car in some climates is a most unpleasant experience. You never have to worry about being roasted alive here or frozen to death. We are not eaten alive by bugs and mosqitoes or bitten by snakes or attacked by bears or rhinos or cougars. We do not have earthquakes or hurricanes or tornados or blizzards. A heat wave in Ireland is when the temperatures reach into the 80's and when we get snow it rarely manages to last more than a few days and that would be more in the inland areas. Many of my chauffeurdrive clients really love Irish weather and come back again and again. If you are coming to Ireland then just make sure that you bring rainwear, a couple of warm sweaters and good walking shoes. Do not worry about evening wear as smart casual will do anywhere.
To sum up....my recommendation would be....anytime from April to the end of October ....my favourite months are from May to September. When is it most likely not to rain? When you bring your umbrella. Seriously though, my company, Dovechauffeurdrive, does supply umbrellas but believe it or not we do not have to use them that often. Chauffeurdrive holidays have that extra flexibility to make the little instant changes that bus tours cannot make and if it is raining we can make sure that we are doing something that ensures we are indoors or travelling in the car. When the rain stops we can then enjoy the fresh air. We do not have to be as rigid as other forms of touring and this is another plus for the chauffeurdrive option.
I have travelled myself to many wonderful countries and have enjoyed their climates but i would not swop my Irish climate overall for any of them. Come and sample it for yourself.
Comments please.

Winter in Ireland

Well the winter has set in and the change is pretty noticeable. Yesterday was lovely, bright and sunny with plenty of blue skies, but today we were back to the rain and miserable cold. That is the way Irish weather can be....as they say...all four seasons in the one day sometimes. What can we expect...it is winter after all. My chauffeurdrive services are mainly about airport transfers and corporate runs at the moment. The tourists are few and far between and therefore there are not many people looking for a car and private driver. It is nice for me to be able to spend more time at home though and there are many things to catch up on after being absent so much during the touring season. It is the time of the year also when the early planners for next year start to make contact and i have a lot of work to do for them with developing plans and itineraries. I do find that exciting as my American friends can be so enthusiastic about their intended holiday and i love the way they get excitied about my presentations. There is a feel good factor in that and it keeps my appetite up for the coming year. If anybody out there wants to make enquiries into anything that i might be able to help them with please do not be shy about it and write to me.
We will not feel the time passing now before Christmas is upon us and that is always a big thing here in Ireland. The shops are already advertising their range of toys etc and it is hard to know just how that will go this year as the recession will surely have its effect. There will not be as much spare money available this year as in the recent past and people will have to be a lot more sensible. In many ways that will be no harm as it had all gone haywire with children just about demanding everything they see advertised on TV. Christmas is a very expensive time here in Ireland and with everybody taking extended holidays over the Christmas period there is just too much time for people to keep on spending. The after Christmas sales also attract people to spend more money and there has to be a limit to just how much is available this year. Hopefully we will all be a little more responsible and not go beyond our limits.
Your thoughts on how you view all of this would be welcome.

Holidays Ireland 2010

Looking ahead to the coming year i feel that Ireland just might be a great place to holiday as we have seen a big change in our overall prices due to the recession. For many years we have been experiencing great success, and this undoubtedly led to a great rise in the cost of living here, and therefore a rise in prices all around. Now once again we have to compete and this has meant a drop in prices overall. I feel that we may see even further decreases and this means better value for the customer. I know that i personally will be doing my best to remain competitive. I cannot say that i suffered this year eventhough we did have less Americans coming our way but next year is another challenge and i want to be one of those prepared for that. If i am getting better value in fuel prices and overall costs like accommodation then i will certainly be passing that on to my customers. These customers will also be getting better value in whatever extra spending they do while here, such as their food, and most definitely in their shopping. At the moment there are really good bargains to be had in the shops and this can only benefit all of us. The recession may have damaged the economy but it has done nothing to spoil this beautiful country. Now you can see it for yourself, and at a much more affordable price. Chauffeurdrive/Private Driver and Guide charges may now be within your reach.
Come to Ireland this year for value......maybe this is the opportunity you have been waiting for, and who knows how long it may last.
Comments welcome.