On the Road...blogging from Ireland

Portlaoise, Ireland – A few days on my brother’s farm here in the Irish countryside provides a little distance from all the bad news we have been coping with laterly.

Of course in this connected world there is no real escaping what is happening. Just watched the 9 pm news on RTE Television and heard reports of what's happening down in Texas and Louisiana. Was particularly dissappointed to hear about the levee breaks.

I’ve been interested in hearing what people over here have to say about the Katrina disaster. Will post some comments during the coming week.

Yesterday I mentioned that there was some controversy over the decision of the Irish Government to donate one million Euros to the Red Cross and other agencies providing relief on the Gulf Coast. It seems that the head of one of the major aid agencies here criticized the donation saying that America was “awash in millionaires.”

Many Irish people were outraged at this criticism, as they had seen the terrible suffering of Katrina’s victims on their television sets. The public response was not surprising. The Irish people have a great tradition of donating generously to people in need in any part of the world.

Ireland is near the top of the list of countries on the basis of per capita donations.