St. Paddy's Day

oooh, you cheeky bugger ;)
I am a neutral on the game…but to be honest I'd like to see Wales win the grand slam because of no other reason than they came from nowhere really. The Irish media haven't shut up since the French game which has tainted the Irish team a little for me….YOU LOST! GET OVER IT!

Brian O'Driscoll is all pissed off at some English reporter because he made the comment that Ireland can only play well when they're the underdogs, and have a tendency to choke when favourites…..he does have a point.

I think home field advantage will be enough for the Welsh to squeeze out a victory in a tight game.
oy…..

Gardaí make 714 St Patrick's Day arrests
Last updated: 18-03-05, 15:41

Gardaí arrested 714 people for various public order offences across the State over the course of St Patrick's Day.

Figures compiled today by gardaí show that officers made 407 arrests in Dublin. Of these, 250 were for public order offences while the remainder related to other incidents like vandalism, drink-driving and domestic violence.

A further 180 people were arrested for various offences in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford up to 6am this morning. However, a garda spokesman said: "We cannot confirm if all of these arrests
were related to St Patrick's Day festivities, many are just drink-related and linked to any public holiday.

Up to 40 people were detained in Cork city arising from drunk and disorderly behaviour. Another 22 people were arrested for public order offences in Waterford city, while four arrests were made in Tramore.

A further 52 revellers were arrested in Limerick, including nine after a pub brawl on Catherine Street.
Gardai are due to mount extra patrols over the weekend to monitor public order in cities and towns around the country.

Accident and Emergency departments reported a big rise in admissions: Tallaght and Beaumont hospitals in Dublin dealt with 400 patients last night.

Gardaí have appealled for information on the incident which happened at Howth Junction station between 5.55pm and 6.15pm. At least four youths are believed to have taken emergency hammers from the train and used them to smash a number of windows.

"Anyone who may have been on the Dart or at Howth Junction at the time, and may have information to assist the investigation, is asked to contact the Clontarf Community Policing Unit on 01 6664800, or any Garda Station," a Garda statement said.

In a separate incident at Bray Dart station, three people were arrested after trouble broke out when several youths tried to evade fares and two security guards were assaulted.

Iarnród �ireann spokeswoman Cliodhna Ni Fhatharta said: "We have CCTV footage of the incident and we will be handing it over to gardaí to help their investigation."

Gardaí were also called to intervene in a large-scale fight that broke out on a Dart train from Howth to Bray.

Eighteen people were arrested for public order offences in during disturbances in Belfast and Derry.

The PSNI came under attack from crowds of St Patrick's Night revellers in Maghera, Co Derry, when officers who tried to break up a mob fight in Main Street were attacked with pool balls and bottles.

A police Land Rover was damaged but no officers were injured. Vehicles were also attacked in the Waterloo Place district of Derry and one officer suffered an eye injury, thought to have been caused by glass.

A man was taken to hospital after being stabbed in a disturbance outside a bar in Co Down. The victim suffered a single stab wound to the back outside the pub in Downpatrick's Market Street, said police.

The victim's injuries are thought to be life-threatening.

Reacting to the disorder, Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle said binge drinking was one of the most urgent challenges facing European health ministers.

She urged the EU Council of Health Ministers to discuss the issue at its next meeting next month.

She said: "We're talking about a culture of drinking to get drunk, and this leads onto aggression and violence.

"There's a problem with the easy accessibility of alcohol, but also with public attitudes and with the enforcement of public order legislation.

"The effects of binge drinking exert an incalculable toll across society on emergency services, road safety and family relationships to name but a few.

"The Irish presidency did some good work on this subject last year and it must be carried on by the current EU president, Luxembourg now."
Back to St. Paddy's Day. I celebrated in Portland, OR, gearing up for the Decemberists show at The Crystal Ballroom. And then my friend who lives out there (and bought the tickets) calls me and says, "you sittin' down? All the band's stuff was stolen, and they don't say whether the show is cancelled or not." See Pitchfork story below, and I'll tell you what happened next…..


The Decemberists' Trailer, Gear Stolen!
Micah C. Harding reports:
OK, it's time for the police to crack down on crime, namely the kind of crime that hits us where we live– gear theft. Yes, joining an unfortunate club that, of late, includes Camper Van Beethoven, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and the Radiators, the Decemberists have had all their shit stolen while on tour. As recently reported on their official website, the band's gear-filled trailer was stolen from outside a house near the Aladdin Theatre in southeast Portland, Ore., sometime between 3 and 8 a.m. on March 17. The theft occurred after their second show of a 40-plus date tour promoting their highly anticipated (and excellent) third full-length, Picaresque.

The details: The trailer in question is a white, 6x12â Wells Cargo trailer with an Oregon license plate that reads U348717. Some identifying marks on the trailer include a green sticker located on the side door with "VT" written on it, a sticker of the "British Flag" on the front, and another on the left back door that reads "No on 36." The band included no description of the gear pilfered, but the post says that the trailer contained "practically every piece of instrumentation belonging to the Decemberists."

Considering the band's variety of instrumentation, we imagine it'll be a bitch to come up with replacement gear on short notice, but the post on the band's site didn't mention either cancellation or continuation of the tour. So we'll print the tour dates again here, hoping to breed some positive karma (can't hurt, right?). The band asks that if you have or come across any information that might lead to the recovery of their gear, please call the Portland police.
Well, they borrowed instruments and they were GREAT. The new songs sound awesome, and the addition of Petra Haden adds some really interesting, different harmonies (and a great cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights"). It was really quite funny because some of the instruments – the standing double bass, a bass guitar and something else – still had price tags hanging on them. It was a wee bit Hee Haw. But, Portland is their hometown, so I wasn't surprised they could get gear. But I was surprised at how well they played with borrowed instruments, etc.

As for the Crystal Ballroom, it's a new venue in Portland (relatively – couple years old). Big space, and the drinking section is fully separated with black-light entrance, and you have to stay there if you have a drink. There's an aisle divided between the two sections, and they have a beer/jagermeister cart they run up and down the aisle. And the floor is bouncy – some technical architectural feature. ?? Great show, cool to be at a new place, but certainly reifies my love and admiration for the 9:30. ;)