February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Patrick Markey
Chillin’ Irish
An international survey has discovered that the Irish are among the more relaxed people in the world, reports the Irish Independent.
The survey highlights the demands on people’s time and their quality of life. And the Irish are top of the league for having the most people with three to five hours of free time every day.
When people in seven countries were asked how often they were in a rush, the Irish, along with residents of South African and British cities, were the least likely to be in a hurry. The French ranked highest with 54 percent confessing to "always or usually being in a rush," followed by those of the Czech Republic and Australia.
Young Irish adults between the ages of 25 and 34 were the most rushed in the nation, while those aged between 55 and 65 had the most relaxation time.
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Dublin was found to be the most relaxed city in the survey, with 45 percent of people having three to five hours to relax each day. Only 30 percent of people in New York had that much free time. Prague fared the worst, with only 20 percent enjoying that kind of relaxation time.
The Irish may have more leisure time, but they are also have the most clock-watchers. The Jameson International Millennium Survey showed almost 40 percent of Irish people consult their wristwatches at least once every hour. Most Australians, British, Czechs, and French check the time about once every three to six hours.
Young people aged between 18 and 24 enjoy the most free time. Part-time workers, in general, have less leisure time than people in full-time employment.
Live to spend
As if Irish earning more than £400,000 a year don’t have enough, that elite group now have a new magazine aimed at helping them spend and shop.
Marketed as the essential shopping guide for the new social elite, the magazine Spend is the latest in a line of glossies to appear on the market since the Celtic Tiger took Ireland in its grip.
The new mag joins VIP, Himself, Food and Wine and Patrick and is a brash celebration of Ireland’s new-found wealth, reports the Examiner newspaper. The publishers say its content will not tackle any meaningful social or political issues, but will offer deep analysis on how the rich dispose of their cash.
Topics will include exotic holiday destinations, Ireland’s top 10 schools, top restaurants as well as designer fashions and entertainment.
Publishers have also come up with a novel way of distributing their posh product. For so called ABs, those living in and around Dublin and earning over £400,000 a year, Spend will be delivered free of charge. For those less privileged, this insight into the world of the financially flush, will hit the news stands at £2.50.
Save our school
One County Mayo school could be saved if a couple decides to send their two kids there.
Carrowmore Lacken National School’s pupil numbers will almost double to five if Thomas and Jean Harpur decide to send their two kids to the rural Killala school, reports the Irish Independent.
Padraig O Laimhin, the school principal, said the minister for education had spurned the community’s pleas to keep it open for another year. The Harpurs contacted O Laimhin and offered to move to his area to help boost pupil numbers after reading about the school’s plight in a newspaper report.
"We would love our children to attend the school and are ready to move," Thomas Harpur, of Rosslare, Co. Wexford, told the newspaper.
Joe Brett, Rural Resettlement Officer for Mayo, said the community would be heartened that the Harpurs wanted to move there. The resettlement organization helped to find accommodation and employment, he said.
O Laimhin remained pessimistic. He welcomed the Harpurs but said the minister had failed the community by deciding to go ahead and close the school.