Gas Craic ⛽️🐣

So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic is back on this Good Friday, providing a little Easter Craic before we roll into the weekend like the good eggs we are. The Craic is the cheeky mouthpiece of Shift, our app for connecting the Irish around the world. Want Shift? It’s right here. Want friends to have The Craic each week. Sign up here, le do thoil.

News from Home

Fuel Me Once. The price at the pump is the talk of the country this week, and no, we are not talking about draught stout this time around. Petrol and diesel prices have soared due to you-know-what over in you-know-where, so all eyes are on the government to help out. It acted quickly with fuel tax cuts, much to the chagrin of our British friends, but the hope is that the government can pull a rabbit out of the hat in time for Easter. Some have called for all public transport to be free during the crisis, which gets our vote.  Of course, it’s not just running cars; it’s heating homes and growing food on Irish farms. Something drastic is needed.

Croker Row. Croke Park occupies a special place in the Irish psyche. Most agree that it is a hallowed venue that should mostly be reserved for Gaelic sports. If ‘foreign’ sports are to be played there, it must be something momentous, like the first-ever NFL game or Katie Taylor’s last fight (hint-hint), so there has been a bit of a row over the announcement of a ‘meaningless’ friendly between English Premier League clubs Manchester United and Leeds United in the summer. What do yis think? Are the naysayers stuck in the past? Or should Croker be a special case?

New 2. The lads are at it again. U2 has released a second EP in a matter of months, announcing the aptly titled six-track Easter Lilly this morning. The Craic put on its Deerstalker hat and has surmised that all of this means Bono and the boys will be announcing a massive world tour soon. Apropos of absolutely something, the U2 chat has reminded us of this 10/10 meme, espousing the theory that the Reservoir Dogs crew today-ish looks like Bono at different stages of his life. Spot on, with Tim Roth, in particular, giving the vibe that he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.

The Craic Recommends – Irish chocolate. There’s been a lot of chat about the declining quality of chocolate in Easter Eggs this week, with soaring global cocoa prices meaning that Big Chocolate companies are using, among other ‘new’ ingredients, palm oil (yum) to pad out their products. Going local is best, and by local, we mean independent Irish choco-makers. RTÉ has compiled this great list of Irish chocolatiers for your perusal. Probably too late to order for the Big One on Sunday, but, g’wan and treat yourself for another occasion.

The Irish Influence

On Sunday, ceremonies in Dublin will mark the 110th anniversary of the Easter Rising, i.e., the rebellion against British occupation that would eventually lead to Ireland’s independence. The main architect of that rebellion was Patrick “Pádraig” Pearse. It was Pearse who read the famous Proclamation of the Republic outside Dublin’s General Post Office, and it was he who was effectively commander-in-chief of the Irish forces. He was sort-of-kind-of the first president of Ireland for a few days, though we wouldn’t be a proper country until a few years later. Pearse was executed, along with fourteen other leaders, by the British Government nine days after the Easter Rising. He was 36.

Cúpla Focal

It's Easter, which means a few days off work (yay!). But it also means we are going to quickfire some Easter-y words as Gaeilge. Ready, steady go: Aoine an Chéasta ⛪️ (Good Friday), Ubh Chásca 🐣 (Easter Egg), Seacláid 🍫 (Chocolate ), Domhnach Cásca 🛐 (Easter Sunday), Coinín na Cásca 🐰 (Easter Bunny). 

Blast from the Past

You know, they often talk about the Titanic sinking on her maiden voyage as it set off from Southampton on April 10th. However, the ship had to get to Southampton from Belfast, and we certainly didn’t pick her up and carry her there. The ship left Belfast on April 2nd – just a smidge over 114 years ago – and we are going to lawyer up and call that one her maiden voyage. Last night, the city marked that occasion with a spectacular drone show to let the ship set sail for a second time. It was something to behold, and fair play to the BBC, which put out a special broadcast to mark the exact time of departure yesterday evening. 

And One Last Thing….

It’s Good Friday here in Ireland (as if you didn’t know already), but it’s always interesting to watch the annual clash between modernity and Ireland’s Catholic traditions. For years, pubs were not allowed to open, which gave rise to some inventive speakeasys, until the law changed in 2018. Today, the dispute is over gambling. Should, for example, The Curragh be allowed to run horse races, as it did today? It’s an interesting debate on whether it should be a day without vice, and let us tell you, the divide is not always on religious grounds. Anyway, if you are celebrating Easter or not, or perhaps it’s Pesach in your home this week, we hope you have a grand aul time with friends and family in the coming days.