Gabriel Byrne says the Gathering is a scam.

Anita Blow

Ellis Dee wrote: »

I have Finnish citizenship and, even if I never set foot in Finland again for the rest of my life, I can still go up to the embassy in Dublin and vote in all parliamentary, municipal and presidential elections as well as in any referendums they arrange. They even serve coffee and biscuits and thank you for doing your "duty as a citizen".:) Why can't Ireland show its citizens abroad the same respect?

Why should Irish people abroad give a sh1t about some phoney "gathering" that the corrupt ruling elite here arrange? If that same elite really cared about our citizens abroad, it would treat them they way Finland treats me - with respect for me personally and for my views.:cool:

I agree with the rest of your post except this.
I'd wager that Finland has nowhere near the number of citizens abroad relative to their population that Ireland has so the emigrant vote would have huge sway on referenda and elections. Don't think it'd be very fair for a party to get into power through the emigrant vote, when they are not the ones that would have to be governed by that party.
Why should a person get a say in the running of a country when they don't live there.

ejmaztec

Pippy1976 wrote: »

I think some of you should watch the RTE show that is highlighting each week the various things people are doing for The Gathering.

It's not about getting as many people into the pubs of this country as possible, there doesn't seem to be a problem with that aspect of our culture! But it's bringing long lost relatives and friends back in touch and back into eachother's lives - there's old boys who haven't seen eachother, now in their 70's, reuniting and talking about old times.

it's really lovely and very emotional some weeks. There's Youth groups and communities coming together to bring people home ...

A fellah (who shall remain nameseless:D) on one of those programmes promoting the "Gathering and telling everyone what a wonderful place he came from, originally couldn't get out of the place quick enough when he took off overseas years ago.

Tombo2001

crusher000 wrote: »

Tourist are coming folks and if we tap further into the reasons they are coming we will improve. Why do they come here ? Cause we're Irish and this is Ireland there is nowhere else in the world they can get this experience as much and all as some peolpe mock it and knock it.

Just on the point, I was surprised to learn that Tourists are not coming, in a European context.

Tourism is obviously a big industry here; but I was interested to learn that Ireland actually underperforms within the wider European tourism industry.

More people leave here than come on holidays here. And the % of Europeans that come on holidays here is below our "natural share"......(that being, that all other things being equal, if we have 5% of the European population, then we would have 5% of the tourism, but we have less than that).

Reason I say I'm surprised is because I always thought Ireland was supposedly brilliant at tourism.

On a completely seperate note; holidays in Ireland are class. The scenery is fantastic, the food is very good, people are friendly. I would have no hesitation to recommend Ireland as a tourist destination to anyone, and dont see why the government should. Its not like we are going out with a big rope and dragging these people in here. The Gathering is a marketing campaign at the end of the day. Nothing more nothing less.

And on the other hand, Tourism is hugely important for areas like Connemara, Mayo, Kerry, Donegal, the Shannon......areas that are depopulating fast. Tourism is a reason why people can stay there.

But ya know.....Gabriel Byrne is embarrased in front of his mates......thats more important at the end of the day.

Judgement Day

I don't think anybody is saying that tourism is not good for the country but what it needs is proper development not half-baked ideas from Tourism Ireland/Failte Ireland etc. Much of our scenery is still great but a lot has been blighted in recent years, our weather is indifferent (but people coming here expect that), our hotels are patchy and a lot of the tax-break ones are ghastly, our visitor attractions are embarrassing when compared to our nearest neighbour....I could go on but what's the point - nothing ever changes here.

Pippy1976

ejmaztec wrote: »

A fellah (who shall remain nameseless:D) on one of those programmes promoting the "Gathering and telling everyone what a wonderful place he came from, originally couldn't get out of the place quick enough when he took off overseas years ago.

I don't care...

what matters to me are the ordinary lads (old men) and ladies (old girls) who finally understand what Skype is when they get in touch with a long lost school friend from years ago.

it's about those people catching up over a cuppa about what they've been up to for the past 50 years.

Judgement Day

Pippy1976 wrote: »

I don't care...

what matters to me are the ordinary lads (old men) and ladies (old girls) who finally understand what Skype is when they get in touch with a long lost school friend from years ago.

it's about those people catching up over a cuppa about what they've been up to for the past 50 years.

What about all the old tossers from years back that you weren't even friends with at school but now in their dotage want to be your friend on Facebook?

Pippy1976

Judgement Day wrote: »

What about all the old tossers from years back that you weren't even friends with at school but now in their dotage want to be your friend on Facebook?

Eh, do they? I must have missed all the friend requests!

I'm not interested in befriending any aul eejit but the old men on the show had lost touch with good family and school friends (back in the day before FB existed) so for those people it's a great opportunity.

Anyway, I'm kind of over this topic.. my main reason for posting was to say: people are fed up, someone tries to fix it and everyone starts moaning. And, believe me, having lived abroad people have the same issues the world over. No-one's ever happy, a few people are and the rest don't give a crap!

Niles

I think it's an elaborate trap in which we lour all our former oppressors (the Vikings, the Brits) back into a false sense of security, before taking our revenge. :rolleyes:

Pippy1976

Niles wrote: »

I think it's an elaborate trap in which we lour all our former oppressors (the Vikings, the Brits) back into a false sense of security, before taking our revenge. :rolleyes:

Now THAT'S a GREAT idea!

Niles

Pippy1976 wrote: »

Now THAT'S a GREAT idea!

And in a further twist it's partly a shady deal with the Germans who will forgive our debts in exchange for handing over the Yanks and Brits after their humiliation in WWII. There's probably a South Park episode in here somewhere...

Jimoslimos

What I can't understand is this fascination with targeting the US for tourism. Is it because they speak English or the high numbers of Irish who have emigrated there, etc.

Fact remains most employees only get approx 1-2 weeks paid holidays per annum and can't afford the time (as well as the finance) on transatlantic trips for a couple of days.

We'd be better served targeting the European market. Of course that means the tourism industry doing some work and attempting to market themselves in a language other than English - which I don't see happening.

ScumLord

What the government haven't told anybody is that they've developed a brain control device that will take over the minds of all people of Irish descent around the world. Once the device is turned on you'll have New Yorkers ordering bacon and cabbage in their fancy Manhattan restaurants, Posh Londoners sucking back pints of Guinness instead of champaign, Chinese lads getting a craving for spuds and tayto. Their friends won't understand what's going on, neither will they but they'll mindlessly board planes to Dublin, then they'll wake up a week later in Sligo with mild brain damage, very broke and with no idea where they are or how they got here.

later12

Jimoslimos wrote: »

What I can't understand is this fascination with targeting the US for tourism. Is it because they speak English or the high numbers of Irish who have emigrated there, etc.

Fact remains most employees only get approx 1-2 weeks paid holidays per annum and can't afford the time (as well as the finance) on transatlantic trips for a couple of days.

We'd be better served targeting the European market. Of course that means the tourism industry doing some work and attempting to market themselves in a language other than English - which I don't see happening.

Europeans are notoriously cheap in tourism terms; the people you really want to target are the Chinese, who spend three times the global average during their holidays in Europe. The UK are currently trying to boost their share of Chinese tourists, and we in Ireland are also making efforts to make it easier for the Chinese to come here on holidays.

The emphasis on attracting Americans makes sense on account of the size of the Irish diaspora in the United States; and anecdotally the Americans who do come here tend to spend significantly; moreso, certainly, than Europeans on city breaks.

Judgement Day

Jimoslimos wrote: »

What I can't understand is this fascination with targeting the US for tourism. Is it because they speak English or the high numbers of Irish who have emigrated there, etc.

Fact remains most employees only get approx 1-2 weeks paid holidays per annum and can't afford the time (as well as the finance) on transatlantic trips for a couple of days.

We'd be better served targeting the European market. Of course that means the tourism industry doing some work and attempting to market themselves in a language other than English - which I don't see happening.

Nail on head but Failte Ireland prefer junkets in the USA rather than London. Turn your back on 60 million people on our doorstep and squander what little resources we have on encouraging the Yanks. :rolleyes:

ejmaztec

Pippy1976 wrote: »

I don't care...

what matters to me are the ordinary lads (old men) and ladies (old girls) who finally understand what Skype is when they get in touch with a long lost school friend from years ago.

it's about those people catching up over a cuppa about what they've been up to for the past 50 years.

It's more likely to be like The Field with the Guards looking for the bodies of American tourists who looked at the local Bull McCabe in a funny way. It's going to be a massacre.:eek:

repsol

Jimoslimos wrote: »

What I can't understand is this fascination with targeting the US for tourism. Is it because they speak English or the high numbers of Irish who have emigrated there, etc.

Fact remains most employees only get approx 1-2 weeks paid holidays per annum and can't afford the time (as well as the finance) on transatlantic trips for a couple of days.

We'd be better served targeting the European market. Of course that means the tourism industry doing some work and attempting to market themselves in a language other than English - which I don't see happening.

They don't want average yanks.Most of the ones that come here are well heeled and spend money on nice hotels and restaurants.East Europeans and Brits are very tight with their money.They fly Ryanair,stay in Premier Inn and eat in Burger King.They generate no wealth for the country.If we had a longer runway in Dublin Airport we would be able to attract flights from further away but for now America is the best option.There were 32000 of them here for the Notre Dame match and as well as spending their dollars,they did not feel the need to wreck the place unlike a lot of " Europeans"

Jimoslimos

later12 wrote: »

Europeans are notoriously cheap in tourism terms; the people you really want to target are the Chinese, who spend three times the global average during their holidays in Europe. The UK are currently trying to boost their share of Chinese tourists, and we in Ireland are also making efforts to make it easier for the Chinese to come here on holidays.

The emphasis on attracting Americans makes sense on account of the size of the Irish diaspora in the United States; and anecdotally the Americans who do come here tend to spend significantly; moreso, certainly, than Europeans on city breaks.

Agree on the Chinese, however they do tend to be more 'demanding' when it comes tourism - something our service industries don't deal particularly well with.

European tourists might not spend as much as Americans, but there are far far more of them that could be attracted here than we could ever hope from the US. Ryanair fly to pretty much everywhere on the continent

Downlinz

I'm all for fleecing the diaspora. People who get educated in a country, spend their life there as a dependable on the state then hightail it the very second they're a productive member of society don't deserve much consideration considering how much they gave to their supposed country.

Jimoslimos

repsol wrote: »

They don't want average yanks.Most of the ones that come here are well heeled and spend money on nice hotels and restaurants.East Europeans and Brits are very tight with their money.They fly Ryanair,stay in Premier Inn and eat in Burger King.They generate no wealth for the country.If we had a longer runway in Dublin Airport we would be able to attract flights from further away but for now America is the best option.There were 32000 of them here for the Notre Dame match and as well as spending their dollars,they did not feel the need to wreck the place unlike a lot of " Europeans"

Really? I don't have figures but I'll hazard a guess that Spain and Portugal make much more from tourism than Ireland, and mostly from other European countries.

As for "wrecking the place", what are you on about?

ejmaztec

Downlinz wrote: »

I'm all for fleecing the diaspora. People who get educated in a country, spend their life there as a dependable on the state then hightail it the very second they're a productive member of society don't deserve much consideration considering how much they gave to their supposed country.

They can't win can they? They'd be pariahs if they spent the rest of their lives here on the dole as well.

It's strange how emigrants get the blame for a government's incompetence in job creation. This country's always been sh1t at finding jobs for its citizens, no matter how much tax-payers' funds are thrown at the problem.

SafeSurfer

I always think of the word oxymoron when I see the words government and initiative in the same sentence.

I am reminded of the last great initiative, the name escapes me now, the one where people wrote in with their ideas to bring Ireland out of recession. Whatever happened to that?

Only in the banana republic that is Ireland would the government call on people to have a party and a celebration at a time when thousands of citizens are facing eviction, emigration etc.

The government can turn this country into a giant Potemkin Village next year but I for one won't be taking part in the charade.

repsol

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Really? I don't have figures but I'll hazard a guess that Spain and Portugal make much more from tourism than Ireland, and mostly from other European countries.

As for "wrecking the place", what are you on about?

The weather might have something to do with Spain/Portugal ! What I was "on about" as you put it was the good behaviour of the American sports fans compared to say what would happen if it had been 32000 England football supporters instead for example. Families go to Spain etc.What we get here is a lot of hen/stag do parties.That is not tourism in my book.We need to get visitors from the BRIC countries here

westendgirlie

repsol wrote: »

The weather might have something to do with Spain/Portugal ! What I was "on about" as you put it was the good behaviour of the American sports fans compared to say what would happen if it had been 32000 England football supporters instead for example. Families go to Spain etc.What we get here is a lot of hen/stag do parties.That is not tourism in my book.We need to get visitors from the BRIC countries here

Ok, better tell my mum to rip up the invitations for the rest of our family in England. Don't want their kind over here.

mgbgt1978

.....and the funny thing is the Last Word is being broadcast live from the US of A this week courtesy of sponsorship from, guess who, The Gathering.:D


edit; was sponsored last night when Gabe had his rant, not tonight for some reason.....

Jimoslimos

repsol wrote: »

The weather might have something to do with Spain/Portugal ! What I was "on about" as you put it was the good behaviour of the American sports fans compared to say what would happen if it had been 32000 England football supporters instead for example. Families go to Spain etc.What we get here is a lot of hen/stag do parties.That is not tourism in my book.We need to get visitors from the BRIC countries here

Funnily enough the UK has no such qualms about attracting football fans (from here) to boost tourism revenue figures.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/oct/22/football-fans-uk-tourism-figures

Spain attracts a lot of stag parties as well as families and couples. It's called diversification - all of them spend money (the sheer weight in numbers makes up for the shortfall in spending)

Our problem is that we market ourselves as a luxury tourist destination, without the luxury to match the prices.

ScumLord

SafeSurfer wrote: »

I am reminded of the last great initiative, the name escapes me now, the one where people wrote in with their ideas to bring Ireland out of recession. Whatever happened to that?

Administration cost probably.

repsol

westendgirlie wrote: »

Ok, better tell my mum to rip up the invitations for the rest of our family in England. Don't want their kind over here.

I am not saying we don't want English visitors.What I am saying is they will spend less than an American visitor.I find Brits are constantly telling you how much everything costs.Where will your family stay when they come over?

a)expensive hotel
b)with a relative
c)cheapest hotel/b+b they can find

later12

repsol wrote: »

I am not saying we don't want English visitors.What I am saying is they will spend less than an American visitor.I find Brits are constantly telling you how much everything costs.Where will your family stay when they come over?

a)expensive hotel
b)with a relative
c)cheapest hotel/b+b they can find

In fairness, as jimoslimos pointed out, there is a numbers/ expenditure tradeoff.

You might get more bang for your buck from the Americans, but you still get an awful lot of bang from the nearby Europeans.

I don't see why this should be an either/or situation anyway. We do advertise Ireland in Europe and in the diaspora jurisdictions as it is. Germany is, for example, Ireland's 3rd largest source of tourists worldwide (over a third of which are repeat visitors).

Pippy1976

SafeSurfer wrote: »

The government can turn this country into a giant Potemkin Village next year but I for one won't be taking part in the charade.

Simmer down...

And no-one asked you to take part, except of course if your family are organising a home-coming for some relation / friend.

MadsL

130 posts before any mention of the boards tradition and fine heritage of the Gathering (cards) -> http://www.boards.ie/gathering/

The Gathering will return!

The New Gathering

bgrizzley

on the bright side, The Gathering has already started bring employment...


http://www.failteireland.ie/Footer/Careers-and-Internships.aspx

We're currently seeking interns for:

The Gathering, Assistant Account Management Executive - Dublin (INTE-709223)

Pippy1976

bgrizzley wrote: »

on the bright side, The Gathering has already started bring employment...


http://www.failteireland.ie/Footer/Careers-and-Internships.aspx

We're currently seeking interns for:

The Gathering, Assistant Account Management Executive - Dublin (INTE-709223)

You forgot to mention this part (which influences the second part, that you cut and paste):

"Careers

Fáilte Ireland is currently operating under a government moratorium, which means we are unable to recruit new staff. We are, therefore, not accepting applications at this time."

bgrizzley

Pippy1976 wrote: »

You forgot to mention this part (which influences the second part, that you cut and paste):

"Careers

Fáilte Ireland is currently operating under a government moratorium, which means we are unable to recruit new staff. We are, therefore, not accepting applications at this time."

not sure what your point is. Jobbridge is a good idea? or the government hadnt the sense to lift the moratorium to support their "initative"?

MadsL

I think he's highlighting that this is an unpaid position.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

have_a_go_hero

billybudd wrote: »

Tourism in general is a scam, Even the ex public sector workers cant help but giving out.

.

Care to elaborate on this ridiculous statement?
This country has benefited from tourism for decades. In 2011 tourism revenue was €5.46billion with €1.3billion of that being given to the Exchequer for tax. As far as im concerned the gathering may not be the success that is being forcasted (additional 325,000 visitiors) however at least theres some people making an effort rather than just dissing the country at every opportunity.

Judgement Day

repsol wrote: »

They don't want average yanks.Most of the ones that come here are well heeled and spend money on nice hotels and restaurants.East Europeans and Brits are very tight with their money.They fly Ryanair,stay in Premier Inn and eat in Burger King.They generate no wealth for the country.If we had a longer runway in Dublin Airport we would be able to attract flights from further away but for now America is the best option.There were 32000 of them here for the Notre Dame match and as well as spending their dollars,they did not feel the need to wreck the place unlike a lot of " Europeans"

What a load of nonsense - do you have anything other than anecdotal evidence to back this up? What constitutes generating wealth? By your reckoning staying in B+Bs does not generate wealth (obviously they stay free), they obviously eat and drink at the Vincent de Paul and do not avail of taxis, public transport etc. I think you'll find they are much more likely to spend their money in local businesses than some rich Yank staying in the Dromoland Castle Hotel.

MaxSteele

I misread the thread title as "Gay Byrne" and was about to leave almost automatically.

MadsL

Phoenix wrote: »

If anything this country does not value what tourism can truly bring in to the economy

This country does not value what brings tourism. Thousands of heritage properties are left to rot up and down the country.

Whilst utter tack like this is permitted in places like Temple Bar.

http://static.travel.usnews.com/images/destinations/96/gogartys_pub.jpg

Seems you are not allowed to have a pub in Ireland anymore that isn't drenched in flags and tacky banners.

Pippy1976

bgrizzley wrote: »

not sure what your point is. Jobbridge is a good idea? or the government hadnt the sense to lift the moratorium to support their "initative"?

yeah, that's my point... someone highlighting the fact that they're taking on Assistant Account Management Executive on JobBridge without showing the part about the Government hadn't the sense to lift the moratorium...

Drives me nuts when people don't present all the facts available to them - that's how rumours start.

bgrizzley

Pippy1976 wrote: »

yeah, that's my point... someone highlighting the fact that they're taking on Assistant Account Management Executive on JobBridge without showing the part about the Government hadn't the sense to lift the moratorium...

Drives me nuts when people don't present all the facts available to them - that's how rumours start.

Pippy, i think you may be missing the point...

Pippy1976

bgrizzley wrote: »

Pippy, i think you may be missing the point...

No, I'm not... I know what the other poster was saying but I just wanted to point out that it's an unpaid position not because of anything Failte Ireland has done but something the Government has done.

That's all....

al28283

Are they only advertising this in Ireland? I live abroad and have never heard of it before today.

Nodin

Maybe the whole thing would garner less hostility if it was renamed 'Few bob for the babby'?

caste_in_exile

Sinister sounding event under the guise of faux craic and camaraderie.. I will not offer myself up to be harvested what were they thinking; how many nuts can one gather

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Nodin

caste_in_exile wrote: »

Sinister sounding event under the guise of faux craic and camaraderie.. I will not offer myself up to be harvested what were they thinking; how many nuts can one gather

On average? Two per male attendee, I'd imagine.

mikom

So where are we all "Gathering", asked Mr American and Mr English.

"Well we have a few options" I replied.
How about the soup kitchen, or perhaps the local bog to witness the fly-overs by military aircraft as they survey the proles saving the turf.
Maybe we could congregate in the local court for a household charge non-payment hearing, or even better, let's all peer in through departures at Dublin airport as some more of our people "gather" their belongings and take wing for Australia or Canada.

bluecode

Well done Gabrial Byrne for saying, judging from this thread many of us have been thinking. The whole thing is simply a scam to lift money from the Irish diaspora. Of course some replies are simply ad hominen attacking Byrne for being successful in another country. Typical Irish begrudgery. If it's anything the numpties who did nothing with their lives hate more than successfull people inside the country it's successful emigrants coming back.

Having said that the RTE programmes featuring so called celebrities promoting this idea was simply excruciating to watch.

I certainly won't be inviting anyone over for this farce. Any I do know come over regularly anyway.

The whole idea is laughable.

repsol

Judgement Day wrote: »

What a load of nonsense - do you have anything other than anecdotal evidence to back this up? What constitutes generating wealth? By your reckoning staying in B+Bs does not generate wealth (obviously they stay free), they obviously eat and drink at the Vincent de Paul and do not avail of taxis, public transport etc. I think you'll find they are much more likely to spend their money in local businesses than some rich Yank staying in the Dromoland Castle Hotel.

Ask a sales person in a high end shop, a restaurateur,hotelier etc who their preferred customer is.Who has the highest per head spend?Ask the tenants in T1 Dublin Airport who are pulling out because the only passengers spending REAL money,ie not buying tea and a sandwich,are those using T2 (long haul flights,no Ryanair,only Etihad,Aer Lingus etc).Public transport is SUBSIDISED so is a bad example as it makes nothing,B+B's provide little employment as most are family run and as the VAT take is a percentage of the entire bill,small bill = small take for the exchequer.I speak with people in these sectors regularly and have been a tenant in the Airport for several years.What have you got to back up saying my earlier post was "a load of nonsense"?:mad: