I am sure that the same concern was displayed one way or another in houses around the country. As recently as ten years ago the arrival of emigrants, returning home for Christmas, was the top story on most news bulletins in the days prior to Christmas. It still makes news but alongside a new phenomenon, that of immigrants going home to places such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia to be with their families at Christmas. We also have significant numbers of parents of immigrants arriving in Dublin from eastern Europe to spend Christmas in Ireland in the company of their sons and daughters. Although they will not arrive from Moscow until January 2, we are looking forward immensely to having our son Liam's mother-in-law and brother-in-law stay with us for a few days on what will be their first visit to Ireland. They will be here for the christening of Alina Maria on January 6.
The effects of the Celtic Tiger were very evident in Galway on Saturday morning. Pauline and I arrived in the Dunne's Stores car park at 8:10am and, while we did not have any difficulty in finding a parking spot, we took the first one we saw. The story was the same in the Galway Shopping Centre at 8:30am and when we reached the butchers from which we had ordered the turkey and ham there were 25 people ahead of us in the queue and it was no shorter when we left. The city centre was equally busy shortly after nine with long queues of cars waiting to enter the multi-storey car parks.
- Among the Christmas stories from different parts of the country we had:
On Monday Dean Dr Houston McKelvey again took up position, in his black robes, outside St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast. In keeping with a tradition established by his predecessor he collected money for good causes throughout the week. - Dublin was inundated with Santas on Wednesday when the students from Inchicore College of Education donned the appropriate gear to solicit funds for an organisation working with children of special needs.
- Students from Dublin's Belvedere College staged their annual sleep-out on the pavement at College Green, to raise funds for a number of selected charities.
- On Wednesday President Mary McAleese sent Christmas greeting to Irish troops serving overseas with the UN. Communication was via a live video link and some 200 relatives of the personnel involved were invited to Áras an Úachtaráin for the occasion.
- Civil Servants from the Department of the Taoiseach sang carols on the steps of Government Buildings on Thursday. To the fore was Mr Ahern himself, accompanied by Minister of State Tom Kitt.
- Overheard in a crowded Dunne's Stores on Thursday evening, "It was much easier in New York". For a significant number of Irish women (one report suggested that a recent Aer Lingus flight carried only a handful of men) Christmas shopping in New York has become a tradition. This year the drop in the value of the dollar made the visit even more attractive.
