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Ireland and Christmas Markets – It can’t be THAT difficult!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Ireland and Christmas Markets – It can’t be THAT difficult!

In Germany and Austria and a number of other European countries nearly every little village has some sort of Christmas market and if the place has more than maybe 40k inhabitants, then they often have a very impressive market. And oddly the Christmas Market in a 40,000 people city is MUCH better than any markets in the 1.5 mio city of Dublin. So what is the problem? Why can’t anybody get it hacked in Ireland despite years of trying and trying?

I have my own theories and they might be wrong, but what do you think about this:

I get the impression that in Germany and Austria etc the markets are firstly for the visitors, secondly for the traders and only in third place are the organiser’s interest. This probably has to do with the fact that it is usually not an Event Management organisation that is in charge of the market on the continent. In Ireland it is different: The first priority seems to be given to the organiser. Then they will consider briefly the traders but would love to get rid of them and only in third place ranks the audience, the customers.

But Christmas Markets are not and should not seen as a get-rich-quick scheme for organiser. Only when that changes we have a chance to see a proper Christmas Market.

There are a few unfixable problems:

Food and Gluehwein will never be as low priced as outside of Ireland. A cup of Gluehwein seemed outrageously priced at EUR 6 and it is! In Lidl you can get a litre of Gluehwein for that price. But listen to that: In Germany you pay for the same cup ONLY around EUR 2.50, BUT the bottle in Lidl is only EUR 1.50. So if we compare the price per cup with the price of the bottle then we don’t do horribly bad here. Why is the bottle so expensive here? Mainly taxes!! Thanks, deas government for even ruining our Gluehwein addiction. ;-)

And another problem: There seems to be a serious shortage of high quality craft traders in Ireland. At least of Christmas compatible and “sellable” craft!

——————-

But, I hear you saying, are the Christmas markets here really that bad?

About 10 years ago the first market appeared at George’s Dock. At the time a German company was hired to run it and they did a reasonably well job, but it was a new concept and visitors were not as plentiful as they should. After about 5 years (and I am probably not 100% correct with my timings) they were not hired again. Instead an Irish company event management company thought they could do a better job and things started going downhill: The white plastic tents were introduced. They create as much Christmas atmosphere as a Tupperware bowl. That Irish company tried for 2 years and failed. Then another Irish Event Management company got involved and just lasted one year and then there was no market last year at George’s Dock.

That’s when the era of the City Centre Christmas market began! The era lasted one year and was a disaster. In principle it was a very good idea to move the market away from the far-out-the-city IFSC to the centre. But squeezed on the footpath next to Stephen’s Green was a totally wrong place for it. Stephen’s Green would be super, but here shows up another problem: We have NO single suitable space in the City Centre of Dublin that would allow the set up of a Christmas Market Village (not just a string of stalls). Smithfield or the Point Village would be suitable regarding the space, but the location is totally unsuitable.

What else went wrong last year? Well, Christmas Markets need to have a VERY strong food and drink (at least Gluehwein) component to keep people there for a while. Only if people stay there you create atmosphere and you get others to meet them there. But Dublintown (the organisers of last year’s market) decided in their wisdom to give the “catering contract” (totally wrong approach!!) to one single company. So no competition, no variety, no excitement about the food. In addition, Dublintown was worried that the restaurants and traders in the city (who they represent) would suffer from having a too strong food and drink component. And finally: They thought more about marketing the Christmas Market than making it good!

Which brings is to the “I believe (TM) Christmas Tree & Village”. WHAT? Who in their right mind thinks first about trademarking the name of a Christmas Market (on top of that this name “I believe” is totally nonsensical!) and why is it not called Christmas Market, but “Christmas Tree & Village”? So the tree is more relevant than the village? And the village is not really a market? And the “I believe” part is trademarked? Seems like a PR agency ran riot!

The right approach? Create a deadly Christmas Market and you won’t need a fancy or even trademarked name because it speaks for itself! The Nuremberg Christmas Market as one of the most famous and best known in the world, is called “Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt” (Christchild Market). Nothing fancy, no trademark. No silly PR or marketing. It is an amazing market that speaks for itself WORLDWIDE!

More nonsensical claims at the I believe market? Sure!! What about the “Rockefeller-style” Christmas tree? What is “Rockefeller-style” about the tree? The tree is about half as high as the one at the Rockefeller Centre in New York and the lights in Dublin are as boring as hell. NOTHING that even comes close to the magical Rockefeller Centre tree. Empty promises! Like the claim about the importance this market will have in Europe within 5 years. The claim is that it will be one of the top markets in Europe within 5 years. Why does that matter? By the way: It will have NO importance in the international context and it is not relevant either. If they had focused on doing the best possible Christmas Market instead, it would be a success. But that was seemingly forgotten.

I could go on about the outrageously Après Ski table rent and the continued failure to include the CHQ building more, but I want to mention some of the good things before I will take a chill pill (You might have gathered that I am very passionate about Christmas Markets. Maybe I should offer my services as a Christmas Market consultant? ;-) )

There are definitely some good sides about the Dublin Docklands Christmas Market (trademark whatever you want of this):

For the first time the trader selection seems to be well thought out and comes close to what a Christmas Market should be. The layout of the platform in George’s Dock is good and if the white plastic tents were replaced with proper wooden huts (and there are right and wrong ones!!) it would come closer and closer to a good Christmas Market. More traders are needed and some Christmas music would help, but the decoration is quite pretty.

Sure the food trader (again seemingly in one hand) situation has to get sorted as well, competition and more variety is needed, also for the Gluehwein, but that is a relatively simple change. The opening hours are good and the entertainment programme that was originally promised seemed good as well, unfortunately though, I haven’t found a website where this programme of live entertainment has been listed for people to see. With such a marketing focus event this is a big oversight.

Is the “I believe” Market salvageable? Yes! Fire the marketing company and involve people that have been at least ONCE at a European Christmasmarket and it could be really good in about 3-4 years. However, because the NO 1 interest is still the organiser, I have doubts that it will make enough money to keep them interested that long.

If you read till here: WOW! ;-) This concludes my rant and if you want to share your opinion with me, send it to dublineventguide@gmail.com

Dublin, Odd, , , , , , , , ,

Ireland, a (catholic) banana republic?

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Ireland, a (catholic) banana republic?

Let me start with a disclaimer: I am catholic and I do go to church. I am very much what strict catholics call an “a la card” catholic. I choose some elements for me and ignore others. And most importantly I am a strong proponent of tolerant acceptance of all religions and other believes and of complete separation of religious and state matters. But at the same time I am German and that means that rules are needed and these rules should be clear and non-quibbleable (I made that non-existing word up…so much about sticking to strict rules, right? ;-) )

With that in mind, imagine my shock and abhorrence when I read on Friday on the RTE News website (www.rte.ie/news/vote2015/2015/0522/7030), that bibles were provided to Polling Stations in cases “where a presiding officer asks a voter with no identification to swear an oath”!

WHAT???

So, you find a polling card that is not yours and for which you clearly have no identification and you will be allowed to vote just by putting your hand on a book and declaring that you are that person?? I so hope that I got that wrong!?

Because if I didn’t get it wrong, I should leave my passport at home next time I travel and ask for a bible at Dublin airport.

What Banana republic do we live in where a) you are allowed to vote without and identification, b) where a religious book and a few words count more than a formal, state issued document and c) where the Department of Environment explains that as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

To buy a phone and get services from a company, I need an ID and also a proof of address. To vote in a constitution changing referendum, I just need a book and a promise. *shaking head*

What if I am a Trekkie? Will then a Star Trek DVD replace the book? Or as Rastafarian? Just bring the Holy Piby?

It gets better!! It seems there is a bit of a preference for catholicism, because if you are not religious you can just “make an affirmation” says the Department of Environment, you don’t even need a book! I should try that next time I am at a traffic checkpoint: “I can positively affirm that my name is Enda Kenny…and that I will pay that speeding ticket when you send it to me.”

Looks like a Banana Republic to me!!!

Elections, Irish, Justice, Odd, Politics, Society, , , ,

Tacsaí!? Wie bitte?

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Tacsaí!? Wie bitte?

I have been intrigued by this for some while….

If you have ever been abroad in a non-English speaking country, I am sure that you have witnessed business owners and their employees going out their way to serve/greet/help you in English instead of their native language. They do whatever they can, to accommodate you. And if you are a business owner or have ever considered to start a business, you probably have thought about what name you would choose. Most think, it should be a name that is easily recognisable, understandable, pronounceable and that ideally provides some relevant information about what you do to your customers.

And then you see a car with “TACSAI” written on the side! :-O

Taxi drivers can choose if they want to have the big sticker on the front door of their Taxi in English or in Irish. The vast majority chooses English (and possibly considers the points above), but a surprisingly large amount of Taxis in Dublin use the Irish language version “Tacsaí”. And the ones that choose Tacsai seem to go against all logical reasons for choosing a specific business name as a service provider in an industry that particularly serves a very international audience. Unsurprisingly – but somewhat inconsistently – they won’t greet you with “Conas atá tú?” when you enter the taxi, but their brand on the outside is not at all considering to accommodate their international customer base.

Without a doubt you might think of “800 years of occupation” and “forced adoption of English” as reasons why some prefer the Irish language brand, but there are also other countries in this world where English was forced upon the population and you probably won’t be too surprised that Indian taxis are called “Taxi” despite the role of Britain in their history.

Even more puzzling, though, is why the word “Tacsai” even exists! The word “taxa” is originally Latin and means “charging”. That word was used in 1890 in Germany to make “Taxameter”, an automatic meter to record the distance and fare. So does “Tacsai” have the same root? Does it go back to the Latin “taxa”? No, not at all! It is a made up word that tries to copy but be different at the same time.

I’d say the Irish that is used nowadays could easily live with some “foreign” words like “Taxi”. It hasn’t done any harm to all the other languages that just use the word “Taxi”. But there seems to be a flavour of Irish speakers that seem to have to translate EVERYTHING just for the sake of it. After all there is even a word for “Internet”, one of these olden Gaelic communication concepts, you know!? In case you want to know, it is the “Idirghréasán”. Oddly, force-translating modern words makes Irish more outdated than if it just adopted the words!

Irish, Odd, , ,

1916 Easter Rising celebrated on wrong day

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
1916 Easter Rising celebrated on wrong day

Do you and your family celebrate birthdays? Yes? I bet these birthdays are made up of a day and a month and a year. So, for example 12 June 1986 or 06 August 1952 and you might even remember some important events from your history classes or from recent events? The Second World War ended on 02 September 1945, and the attacks on the World Trade Centre happened on 11 September 2001. All very clear and internationally the same system is used. It is called a “date”!

But what about the 1916 Rising? Do you know when it happened? Sure, on Easter Monday! Come again? Easter Monday!

Easter is the only relevant, completely moveable feast in our calender. It could take place any time between 22 March and 25 April and is calculated based on moon and sun (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter#Date). In 725 the rule to determine the date of Easter was “The Sunday following the full Moon which falls on or after the equinox”. This was modified a little, but it still uses the same principle.

So, how about we celebrate your birthday instead of on 12 June 1986, on the first Tuesday after the full moon in the sixth month of the year? You would probably say that that is stupid, right?

But what about the Easter Rising in 1916? Yes, in 1916 it took place in Easter Monday, but does that justify to celebrate it every year on Easter Monday? ONLY if we can celebrate your birthday also based on the lunar-sun cycle!

The event in 1916 took place on 24 April 1916 not on 06 April as it is celebrated this year or on 28 March as the 100th anniversary is celebrated in 2016. And that does NOT make ANY sense at all!

Ohh and you might think the problem was because that many years ago, they gave the day more relevance than the date?! So in this day and age we should be smarter, right? Can I remind you of the “Good Friday Agreement”? Looks like an Irish problem!?

Dublin, Odd,

Good Friday – The oddest day of the year!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Good Friday – The oddest day of the year!

This week is Good Friday, an important day for all Christians in the religious year and a very odd day for everybody in Ireland. Why is it odd?

Well, with the big role the catholic religion plays in Ireland (Education is still dominated by catholic institutions, the majority of laws and rules are directly or indirectly influenced by the catholic church), you would think that Good Friday is a public holiday, but it isn’t. It is a bank holiday, but no public holiday. Which means that most of us will have to work on that day.

On the other hand, when it comes to pubs, the day is even odder. Suddenly it is soooo important that there are special laws for it: Pubs are not allowed to open on Good Friday. (And it doesn’t matter if you are catholic or not, the all-caring Irish state is protecting you from yourself so that you don’t accidentally commit a sinful act of consuming alcohol on that day.) BUT….wait…it is permitted to sell alcohol IF it is in connection with a substantial meal, so that travelling people won’t have to miss their alcohol. And two years ago a number of Greyhound stadiums got a permission to sell alcohol. Hotels are allowed to sell alcohol, but restaurants are not. Mad!

All a bit contradictory or hypocritical? You bet!

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about the fact that people have a day less per year to get drunk. But this is a LAW in 2015, which means that the police is obliged to enforce it! Odd, outdated and just plain bonkers!

And how do (too) many people in Ireland react to this oddness? With even odder behaviour! Watch Off-licenses on Thursday evening!! Some will have queues outside, others will just be packed. ALL will be super busy. Why? Because, “OMG, the pubs will be closed on Friday and how could I survive without alcohol for a WHOLE day?”

(This article was originally published in the “Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events)” in April 2014.

Odd, Society,
 
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