Things are looking up for people in the North this holiday season

With a Catholic majority looming in the near future and the British government cutting back on funds to run the Northern Ireland government, rather profound changes are coming to this small province. One change may arrive before Christmas.

For all the attention it gets, Northern Ireland, with its population of 1.8 million, has fewer people than the three medium-size Massachusetts counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Plymouth. In fact the distance between the two largest cities on either side of Northern Ireland is about the same as between Boston and Hyannis.

A new dispute- taxing households for their water- flares up all across Ireland

BY BILL O’DONNELL
We Reap What We Sow – In the years since the Irish bailout following the recession that hit Ireland and much of the world a staggering blow, Irish taxpayers have involuntarily contributed over 29 billion euros (roughly $389 billion US dollars) to the Irish exchequer. Given the crowd scenes and protests in the news from Greece, Spain, and other similarly hard-hit EU constituencies, the Irish people have been relative paragons of restraint.

Holiday Calendar- Boston Irish events this month

Thurs., Dec. 4, 6-9 p.m. – Annual Irish Network Boston Chrstmas Party, Faneuil Hall, Complimentary bar and hors d’oeuvres, free for members who have paid $50 annual dues.
Fri., Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. – Pauline Wells, “Home for Christmas” lineup of talented musicians and singers, including the band Devri. To benefit”Cops for Kids with Cancer,” Norwood Theatre, 109 Central St, Norwood. Tickets $27 for adults and $24 for seniors/students, 781-551-9000. … Tony Kenny’s Christmas Time in Ireland, 7:30 p.m., Rogers Center for the Arts, Merrimack College. 978-837-5355 | merrimack.edu.

‘Change’ is another key feature of 21st-Century Ireland

Ireland is ever changing. If you doubt that statement, just have a meal almost anywhere in the Emerald Isle and you will be more than pleasantly surprised by the excellence of the food, service, wine list, and cocktail offerings. Anyone who tells you the food in Ireland is plain, dull meat, and potatoes, clearly hasn’t been there for many years.

And the same modernization and change hold true for the country itself. Even if you are intimately familiar with a particular area, you often return to find new activities and businesses that have cropped up since your last visit.

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