Prince William accepting Irish title a hostile move for many Irish

There was a clear Irish subtext to the royal wedding from Prince William dressed in an Irish Guards uniform to shamrocks on Kate Middleton's wedding dress as well as the news that the dress was manufactured using old Irish lace traditions.

But the most significant announcement was the one that Prince William has become Baron Carrickfergus among many other titles.

That tips the balance for me between a benign interpretation on the Irish subtext to something more in your face.

On the one hand people can argue that the upcoming Queen's visit to Ireland ensures a new era and the Irish subtext to the royal wedding helped reinforce that.

On the other hand was it all a deliberate effort to state categorically that a part of Ireland was still under British rule and that the Irish could like it or lump it?

Baron Carrickfergus certainly lays claim to disputed land between the Irish and the British, one settled by Protestant planters in the 16th century when the native Irish were driven off.

It was also the landing point for King William of Orange when he arrived in Ireland to enforce Protestant domination.

It will provide valuable fodder for those republican dissidents who claim nothing has really changed in Northern Ireland.

The British decision to revive the title and clearly make sure that nationalists who live in the town are under His Royal Highness is a curious one.

None of these decisions are made by accident. The exclusion of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from the wedding was payback for what was seen as them having transgressed the royal family.

The royals have long memories, which is one of the reasons they have endured.

Staking their continuing claim to Northern Ireland is another manifestation of that.

Read more: The royal history behind Prince William’s new Irish title

Fuss over royal wedding a perfect example of our dumbed down society

No I was not one of those who e the alarm clock for 4.a.m this Friday morning

Unlike millions I slept soundly while the sound and fury signifying nothing from London blathered on.

As an Irishman, there are many things about Britain that I deeply like.

Royalty is not one of them.

The British have a great culture: they gave the world soccer, rugby and much of modern democracy. I love London, The Beatles, their chocolate and the ordinary British bloke or gal. Just not their royal family.

I don't believe in what Warren Buffett has termed the "lucky sperm" club, the notion that because of an accident of birth, you are entitled to great privilege. I'm sure Prince William is a splendid fellow, but his list of real accomplishments is pitifully small.

Kate Middleton seems a perfectly nice young woman but has never worked a real day in her life. Yet the world is supposed to believe that the marriage of the two will produce what, exactly?

As Princess Diana put it when her two kids were born, "an heir and a spare" is really the only future requirement for Kate and Will.

Lie back and think of England, Kate.

I also object to the sectarian nature of British royalty. No Catholic can become king or queen, an archaic ban that should have been done away with generations ago.

If Kate had been unlucky enough to be of that faith, she would never have been allowed to set foot in Buckingham Palace -- an inconvenient truth, perhaps, and one that is not widely discussed in the ogling media, who are acting collectively like love-struck teenagers.

The sugary confection of a royal wedding is perfect for our frivolous times. This has been a week of fuss and feathers about birth certificates and royal weddings. Such conceits drown out any real discussion of war, collapsing economies or real suffering.

That great Englishman George Orwell had it right in his novel "1984": we are being fed the equivalent of soma on a weekly basis lest we worry our pretty heads about real issues.

We are truly in the Orwellian century. As that great Englishman Shakespeare had Miranda remark, "O brave new world! That has such people in it!"

He was being ironic -- I think.

A disgrace as Phoebe Prince bullies have gotten off free and clear

The bullies who aided and abetted Phoebe Prince's suicide have gotten off pretty much scot-free.

That is the only conclusion to draw from yesterday's events when five of the six copped a plea.

Their crimes will be treated as misdemeanors and likely just involve some community service.

It is a shocking outcome which has ended the hopes of many involved in the issue that finally a stand would be taken against this type of horrific behavior.

Phoebe Prince committed suicide because of the dreadful bullying. There is a clear cause and effect there.

The Irish girl had a troubled past, but would never have taken the ultimate step were it not for the mean girls and boys that made her life a misery.

It is sad to report that the law has failed once again to send a clear and unequivocal signal that if you bully another kid to the point of her suicide there are real consequences.

Sure the accused will bear scars for the rest of their lives, but at least they will have lives.

The family of Phoebe Prince have only the broken dreams and the memories of a dear daughter who departed this earth far too early.

It is an overwhelming tragedy made worse by this slap on the wrist.

Obama birth cert release likely done to boost Donald Trump for Republican nomination

Read more: Donald Trump makes an idiot of himself over Obama birther issue

So Barack Obama has released the official long form of his birth certificate so score one for Donal Trump.

Sad isn't it that the White House had to stoop to such measures because of an incredible campaign that persuaded close to half the Republicans in the United States that their president was born in another country.

Or maybe consider it an exceedingly clever move by the White House to boost Trump and make him a viable contender for the Republican nomination.

There is no one that Obama would rather face than the thrice married, thrice company bankrupt Trump in 2012.

By revealing the birth certificate at this time they have boosted Trump in a major way and set back Trump's legitimate rivals for the nomination.

Or maybe the White House is not that smart, but I suspect there is a Machiavellian mind behind this release right now.

It makes Trump a real contender with bragging rights that he achieved what no one else could do and forced the White House to reveal the full birth certificate.

Nothing could make Democrats happier in the long run I suspect than facing Trump in 2012.

Read more: Donald Trump makes an idiot of himself over Obama birther issue 

The leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 would hate to see what has happened to their country

There has been much speculation in Ireland as to how much the founding fathers of the modern Irish state, the leaders of 1916, would shudder to see the country they created now.

On the 95th anniversary of that gallant rising that “hurled the little streets upon the great” as Yeats wrote, it is a fair question to ask.

All changed utterly as Yeats often said, but the people he castigated, those “fumbling in the greasy till” are still with the Irish.

In a week when the ousted CEO of the utterly failed Allied Irish Bank was revealed to have pocketed a $4 million payoff, when Derek Quinlan, a former Celtic Tiger superstar now bankrupt, was revealed to have had a $140 million mansion, and Sean Quinn, Ireland’s richest man, turned out to be broke, it is fair to wonder what the founding fathers would think of Ireland today.

In a year when the Irish leaders now go cap in hand to Europe and the International Monetary Fund to ensure their future, it is an even more important question.

The 1916 rebellion took place against the backdrop of a primarily European war, World War I, which to this day is shrouded in mystery as to its real origins.

The British entered it, proclaiming the freedom of small nations after Germany overran many of its neighbors.

The Irish, justifiably, after being given the promise of Home Rule and then having it set aside, felt strongly that as a small nation they were entitled to freedom too.

That goal was achieved for the 26 counties in 1921 but the legacy of that war, the separated part of Ireland to the North would fester and suppurate for decades.

Only in recent years has it been settled, and we have what is as close to an agreed Ireland, in John Hume’s phrase, as can be attained.

One suspects most of the leaders of 1916, especially the pragmatists like Michael Collins, would accept that. Eamon de Valera, when later in power, certainly did very little to disturb the status quo between north and south which was considerably worse then than it is now.

The current financial morass would, however, be far beyond most of them, though De Valera was no stranger to financial shenanigans, having used American funds for the new Irish government to start his own newspaper chain, the Irish Press Group.

No doubt many of those leaders, surveying the legacy of greed and political corruption of the past decade, would echo Yeats’s words.

“Was it for this the wild geese spread, the grey wing upon every tide. For this that all that blood was shed. For this Edward Fitzgerald died. And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone. All that delirium of the brave?”

But there is hope. New Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny has promised a new broom and to date has delivered on it. The reformist government he leads seems intent on restoring honesty and integrity to the political process.

By the 100th anniversary on Easter 2016 we will know if he has been successful or not. It is a profound moment for the life of Ireland, to see if the brave words and deed of the 1916 men and women have been lived up to in the best way possible.

Time alone will tell.

Desperate for a drink on dry Good Friday in Ireland

Good Friday is the one day in the year when you cannot get a drink in Ireland.

But it doesn't stop people from trying.

Years ago a bunch of famous writers suddenly developed a deep love for all things canine and made their way to the annual dog show at the Royal Dublin arena.

It transpired of course that Patrick Kavanagh and Brendan Behan had discovered that the old Protestant establishment place served drink in the member's lounge at the dog show.

Stories that Behan scooped up a stray poodle and made his way inside and that Patrick Kavanagh paid a young lady to 'rent ' her dog to him for a brief while have never been confirmed.

What did happen apparently was a crush of strange dog fanciers at the following year's show on Good Friday as all and sundry figured out that the only place in Dublin with beer was the canine carnival.

Word is that that particular loophole was closed after the show was mobbed.

Last year Dublin bar owners came up with another scheme, They opened the pubs but didn't serve beer or any alcohol--only food and soft drinks.

That was the equivalent of showing a drowning man a life raft and then pulling it away.

Some pretended to live by the rules, others served drink out the back as is invariably done in those occasions.

The back door system can be quite complicated, especially in rural areas. Only those in the know are allowed to know the special rap on the back door that results in bottles being handed out.

It was quite common in the old days for all manners of characters to hang around the back door hoping to learn the secret knock.

It was perverse for the Irish of course, to insist on drink the one day they could not have it.

It made many of them even nore determined to get one.

They will be out and about this Friday too, mark my words

Holy Week brings back Good Friday memories in Ireland

The start of Holy Week brings a flood of childhood memories.

Ireland of the 1960s was a very strange place. The power of the church was absolute, never more so than in Holy Week. For weeks beforehand we were preparing for the worst -- Good Friday and the death of Jesus.

We were pretty much responsible for that death we were told, our original sin had apparently been because we were born and had therefore caused Jesus more heartache.

Weird wasn't it, we were born with a sin to begun with.

If we loved God we could atone, if we didn't we were bound for hell.

I could never figure this all loving Jesus who would turn on me if for some ridiculous reason I didn't quite take to him--- this all loving man would take incredible offense and he would banish me to hell fire for all eternity.

God, the brothers and nuns loved discussing hellfire. Purgatory was pretty bad, but hell was the Big Kahuna, the last stop on the road to damnation.

We parsed and analysed venial and mortal sins, which ones we could avoid hell and settle for purgatory -- just a few years of roasting, as against Hell

Good Friday itself was a long exercise in church attendance and penance.

As a six or seven year old you attended a Good Friday ritual that lasted for hours. The town and cities were closed down, I don't even remember radio or television being on the air. Everyone wore black.

We did the stations of the cross, each station more miserable than the last as we reenacted the death of Jesus.

Judas and Herod became villains in our lives, worse than any black clad cowboy at the local cinema.

Holy Saturday we were in a state of suspended animation, Jesus was dead and we didn't dare go outside and play but the thought of Easter Sunday and the Easter Eggs was a thrilling one.

Finally, the great day dawned that Jesus rose for the dead and we got to celebrate and be kids again.


What a strange joyless world it seemed back then on that week.

When I talk to American Catholic friends, it seemed far more joyful over here.

With a kid in the Catholic school system I see how much better things are nowadays and the lessons that are thought are about love not penance.

Thank God for that.

Diarmuid Martin may not last as Irish church savior says top reporter

John Allen is perhaps the most influential reporter on Catholic issues in America

As the senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) in Rome he had a key assignment and broke many exclusive stories such as Rome's response to the American sexual abuse crisis, the Vatican's opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the death of John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI.

Now based in New York, Allen is still a major figure in church coverage.

So his decision to visit Ireland and comment on the state of the church there, which he did in NCR this week, is an interesting one.

What did he find?

In one word anger.

In a few more words, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the reforming Archbishop of Dublin is seen as the only hope for many Catholics there but he may not be around long enough.

He writes: "Anger bred by the crisis is never very far from the surface in Ireland, among survivors themselves, inside the Catholic fold, and among a broad cross-section of the general public."

He also talks about the extraordinary stature of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin,considered to be the last remaining decent church leader in Ireland because of his determined work to ensure that responsibility is taken for the pedophile crisis.

Allen says: "Although it takes time to catch on, there’s a striking bit of Catholic locution in Ireland. When someone refers to “the bishops” or “the hierarchy,” they generally mean everyone but Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. In the abstract, one might expect the leader of the country’s largest and most influential diocese to set the tone for perceptions of the bishops. Instead, he’s seen as an outlier for his strong approach on the crisis, including his commitment to holding church leadership accountable."

He says Martin, who is now 66 has ten years left in Dublin but may be moved sooner

As a result he writes it could be race against time for Martin to impose his will on the church in Ireland

"At 66, Martin could be in charge in Dublin for ten more years, though there’s the possibility he could be moved in the meantime. (A veteran of the Vatican diplomatic corps, he’s occasionally tipped for openings either in Rome or as a nuncio in another country.)

The question is whether Martin will be able to institutionalize his vision before he eventually moves on, or whether ten years from now Irish Catholics will still be talking about “the bishops” and meaning everyone but Diarmuid Martin."

Allen returns to the anger theme throughout his lengthy article.

He cites a priest who was himself abused speaking out at a conference in Milltown, Dublin.

"At one stage during the Milltown conference, an Irish priest and abuse survivor named Fr. Patrick McCafferty began to shout while invoking the Biblical image of the “abomination of desolation.” An audience member asked him to dial down the anger, to which his heartfelt, and transparently honest, reply was: “I am angry. I am so angry, sorry.”

When he asked members of a protest group what would satisfy then , one replied it would be seeing Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh in handcuffs. (Brady has drawn fire for his role in a church investigation in 1975)

Martin remains the only hope for many Catholics Allen finds. At the end of a TV program he took part in he says: "an articulate and well-known survivor seated next to me, Marie Collins, interjected: “He’s the only bishop who has the support of the people!”

Incredible but true in a country that once deified its clergy.

Libyan stalemate is bad news for Samantha Power, Obama key advisor

The continued stalemate in Libya is not good news for Samantha Power widely seen as one of the architects of the Libyan intervention.

Power, who works with the National Security Council, has been touted as the next secretary of State if Obama is re-elected but if Libya continues to be a stalemate it will not help her case.

The Irish-born Power who moved to America when she was ten, has been an outspoken advocate of tackling potential genocide before it happens.

She can justifiably point to the fact that Benghazi in the west of Libya was about to be reduced to rubble and raped and pillaged by Ghadafi troops until the US and NATO stepped in.

But the original script went wrong from there with rebels advancing, then retreating like a bad Charlie Chaplin scene before the current stalemate.

Stalemate is not good in that corner of the world, and a leaderless state, like Somalia can soon become a breeding ground for all kinds of radicals.

That is why Power and the US government are surely pushing had right now for a negotiated solution given the clear lack of hope that the rebels can outfight Ghadaffi any time soon.

Back in America Power’s higher profile after she was singled out for pushing the Libyan intervention policy has brought problems too.

She is consistently hounded, unfairly in my opinion, as Anti-Israeli and the commotion from the right wing press is all about ensuring she never gets to take Hillary Clintons’ job as some have posited she will.

So she needs a Libya breakthrough and soon if she is to remain the point person on the issue and continue her work in combating genocide.

But Ghadaffi did not survive for over 40 years by lying down easily and he may prove willing and able to outlast even the best international efforts to oust him.

That would be bad news for Power who had reckoned the tyrant would fall before this.

Queen's visit will change Ireland for ever ---old enemies will put hatreds aside

The Queen's schedule while she is in Ireland is remarkable and a testament to how all has changed utterly in Irish-British relations.

She will visit the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin which honors all those who fell fighting for Irish freedom--and against the monarchy she represents.

One wonders what she will think as she commemorates Fenian dynamiters, IRA volunteers and 'traitors' to the British upper calls like Sir Roger Casement.

It can only be healthy however, to walk in another nation's shoes even for a short time. And it will be good for Ireland too to acknowledge the major effort by the British monarch to lay the past to rest.

The notion a few years ago that the Queen would visit Croke Park, bastion of the GAA, Ireland's home grown games of hurling and football set up in direct opposition to British games like rugby and soccer, is incredible.

For decades, GAA members were now allowed to play soccer or rugby, the infamous ban rule which has long since been banished.

The Hogan Stand there is called after a Tipperary footballer gunned down by the British who attacked the crowd at a Croke Park game during the Irish war of Independence on Bloody Sunday, November 21 1920 .all in the name of the British monarch.

That scene is vividly caught with some Hollywood panache in the movie Michael Collins.

The killings were in retaliation for the Michael Collins inspired wipe-out the same day of the so called 'Cairo Gang' British intelligence operatives who had infiltrated the IRA.

BY allowing this step the GAA has covered itself in glory once again. This week it stood foursquare behind the rights of Catholic men to join the new Northern Ireland police force and members shouldered the coffin of the murdered policeman Ronan Kerr.

As other bastions of Irish life have brought disgrace on their heads such as the Catholic Church and corrupt government, the GAA has been a beacon of hope.

They ended the ban, allowed soccer and rugby internationals in Croke Park, declared their hand early in the peace process and have now welcomed the British queen to the very bastion of anti- British monarchy sentiment in Ireland.

If only other Irish institutions had shown such bravery.

All in all, the queen's visit will bring about a new era where bitter enemies will toast each other's hero's and revisit the old certainties of their sad and sorry histories together.

Hopefully a new chapter will now be written.

New Dublin Airport terminal has big impact for American visitors

Read more: Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport - another huge joke?

The new Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport was going to change the travel experience to America for the better we were told.

The old, hopelessly overcrowded, Terminal One would give way to the modern, sleek and much faster process in Terminal Two,not to mention being able to pass through US Customs as well as immigration.

All in all a new and better experience was promised.

On balance that is a correct assumption.

Yes, it is a beautiful looking terminal with properly grouped shopping areas and what look like decent restaurants and reasonable prices.

But the distances between your various stop-off points is crazy.

When you check in you have to immediately go two floors higher to get to the entrance to the departure area --quite a walk if you are carrying heavy cabin baggage.


Remember to factor the extra walking time in for your flight as it takes quite a lot of extra time compared to the old check-in area that was only yards from the departure area.

Inside the new departure here are lots of fancy stores in the duty-free area and the newsagent is the British wholesaler W. H. Smith which does not seem to carry nearly as many Irish books as the old Hughes bookstores.

The entrance to the new area and the security section are an improvement, but there is an even bigger improvement at US immigration where they have (finally!) separated out the US citizens and Irish citizens, which obviously makes it much quicker if holding a US passport.

The lining up area is also much bigger than the old cramped quarters where you lined up for immigration.

Once through immigration you were able to board the plane under the old regime, but not this time.

You still have to pass customs, take your laptop out of its bag, have all your hand luggage screened, but mercifully you are not body screened personally again.

This is quite time consuming, so leave even more time for boarding your flight would be my best advice .


Finally, after another long walk you are at your gate destination. This too is a big improvement over the old cramped space where, if three flights were leaving together, the numbers of people were far too many for the crowded space.

So all in all a better overall experience, but be wary of the long time needed to get through , both to the departure area and the extra screening for customs.

The delight comes at the other end in New York when you emerge into the general terminal and do no have to face any more screenings.

All in all a better flying experience and the new terminal overall is a big improvement -- but leave more time to get there.

Read more: Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport - another huge joke? 

Time to stand up to Northern Ireland killers ---They disgrace the good name of the Irish worldwide

Read more: Northern Irish policeman murdered in dissident bomb attack in Omagh
 
The cowards who planted a bomb under the car of policeman Ronan Kerr in Northern Ireland have disgraced the Irish race.

But the killing has also created a moment when the entire community in Ireland, north and south can finally send the message that the days of these callous killers is over for ever

It is time too for Irish America to stand up and say in the clearest possible terms, they have no support in America, they do not kill in our name.

No question that there are Irish Catholic members of the Dissident IRA today who are somehow proud of how they killed another Irish Catholic, all in the name of Irish nationalism.

Anyone who knows these homicidal maniacs should turn them in to police immediately.


The cowardly act deprived a widowed mother of a beloved son on Ireland's mother's day and left an entire community on all sides in Northern Ireland grieving.

Of all the condemnations the one by the The Tyrone GAA and the Ulster Council of the GAA standout.

During The Troubles they never spoke out when a policeman was killed, knowing the majority of their members considered the police a sectarian force intent on keeping nationalists down.

That is no longer the case since the police service was reformed and 50/50 recruitment commenced.

In the new era of the peace process the fact that those two groups came out firing against the killers, calling it a crime against humanity, is deeply significant.

There is not a townland or parish in nationalist Tyrone where the GAA does not hold vital sway. The words their leaders have now uttered are welcome and heartening

There is a chance at a just society in Northern Ireland. Power sharing is in place between both sides, there is a police force that is creating a new reality of cross community representation.

Yet there are those killers who believe that blowing up a 25-year-old recent recruit somehow puts them back in the game and will increase the chances of a peace process breakdown.

They are wrong and they need only listen to the words of the mother of the dead man.

In her hour of darkness she has delivered an eloquent tribute to her dead son and delivered a stunning blow to those who falsely believe they are somehow speaking for Irish people.

The grieving mother Nuala Kerr said : 'this is at a time when we are striving for a neutral police force for the good of our country and I urge all Catholic members not to be deterred by this. We all need to stand up and be counted and to strive for equality.'

Nuala Kerr continued 'we do not want to go back into the dark days again of fear and terror. We were so proud of Ronan and all that he stood for. Do not let his death be in vain.'

'He was a wonderful son and brother, always had a smile and a helping hand for everyone. He had all the attributes of a great police officer - fair, empathetic, intelligent, humorous, a great communicator and loyal to all who knew him. And he just loved his work.'

Nuala Kerr said 'I would like to appeal to the wider public for any information, no matter how small about this callous crime. Someone knows something. Would you please come forward and do the right thing so that justice can be done.'

Someone knows something indeed, let them come forward and deliver the final blow to those thugs and terrorists who seek to usurp the will of the people in Northern Ireland.

It is time for them to stand up and be counted.

Read more: Northern Irish policeman murdered in dissident bomb attack in Omagh

Fear and loathing of Germans, French in Ireland -- European bosses seen as bullies in financial mess

Dublin: Ireland is a country in the middle of a major stress test and heading for a possible breakdown.

The term stress test is used very widely here this week, because it refers to what the banks underwent as a result of their spending splurge in good times.

Bad loans cascaded from all quarters and the end result was a banking system that now has to start from scratch, essentially nationalized this week by the government.

The finance minister, Michael Noonan, described the days the bank went broke as the worst since the Irish civil war in 1921 and he is right.

The final number ends up at close to $100 billion that needs to be repaid by the banks after the previous government foolishly assumed all that banking debt on behalf of the Irish taxpayer.

What is beyond irritating however, are the actions of the big European countries that helped land Ireland in this mess.

The $100 billion that Ireland now must repay in order to get its banking system back was in large part loaned by European banks, especially in Germany and France.

Desperate to loan out cash and unable to do in their own countries, they lent billions at ridiculously cheap rates to Irish banks, around .15 per cent. The Irish banks then relent at 2 to 3 per cent to the big property developers.

All was going swimmingly until the housing bubble burst and the developers could now longer repay their loans.

The reasons the Germans, in particular, loaned billions to Ireland was because their own banking systems did not allow such reckless gambling on property as Ireland did.

Ireland became the dumping ground for easy cash, flim flam men and reckless bankers shoveling cash out the door to ludicrous development projects such as the ghost estates that now dot the Irish landscape.

Call the Irish stupid and they certainly were, but Germany, France and Britain to a lesser extent certainly helped feed the alcoholic much more drink with top up loans whenever the opportunity arose.

Now they Germans and French in particular have adopted a hectoring tone and told Ireland to behave and pay back all the bad loans.

All very well, but you are saddling a country with $100 million in debt which everyone knows it simply cannot repay.

The German and French who lent much of it to Irish banks will not hear of any alternative however, but to squeeze one of Europe’s smallest economies to the point where it squeals for mercy.

It s a little like when the bully has raided your piggy bank and taken everything but now insists on smashing it up as well.

The new government came in threatening to hold bondholders such as the German banks equally responsible for the mess.

This week they backed down in a hurry with the bondholders, those who gambled on the Irish property market, emerging untouched and the penniless Irish taxpayer left holding the bag.

There is justifiable anger here in Ireland over that and it appears that the Europeans have kept the hammer on Ireland in order to protect their own banks which hold many of the same dubious loans that Irish banks did before the crash.

If Ireland were too tell them to take a hike it is quite likely the whole European financial system would be dramatically under mined with bank forced to consider what loans are on their books.

The Germans and French would do well to pay close attention to Ireland’s needs at this point and stop their bullying tactics.

The Celtic Tiger may be gone, but it is cornered, not dead. A cornered tiger is a dangerous animal indeed.