Rest with Wilde: Paris opens a lottery with a difference
The saying “save me from my disciples” is attributed to Dublin-born writer Oscar Wilde, who was buried in Paris following his death in 1900.
That sentiment may be about to become a little more difficult to achieve with Paris city council this week offering citizens the chance to enter a lottery to secure burial plots near the likes of Wilde, singers Jim Morrison and Édith Piaf, playwright Samuel Beckett and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in the city’s Père-Lachaise, Montmartre and Montparnasse cemeteries.
The local authority is aiming to use the lottery to restore degraded monuments within the cemeteries and the offering is expected to appeal to locals as the prospects of securing a plot within the city limits are otherwise slim due to a shortage of space.
Ten gravestones in each cemetery are being offered at €4,000 a pop, with the lottery winners expected to restore them in a way that is faithful to the original within six months to acquire an adjacent burial plot. Those chosen in January’s lottery, only open to Paris residents, will also have to lease their plot for a fixed term (starting from just under €1,000 for 10 years) or in perpetuity (at a cost of more than €17,600).
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When Wilde died in Paris in 1900, he was bankrupt and initially buried at Bagneux outside the city. His friend and literary executor Robert Ross managed, through the sale of Wilde’s works, to annul his bankruptcy and secure a plot “in perpetuity” at Père-Lachaise years later.
His grave became the most visited in Paris’s most famous cemetery and was designated as a historic monument, but decades of graffiti and lipstick kisses degraded the stone and left it close to being irreparably damaged. In 2011 the tomb was renovated – funded by the Irish State – and surrounded by a glass screen to prevent further damage.
Common thread now links Ireland, the UK and the Maldives
What connects UK prime minister Keir Starmer, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, and president-elect of Ireland Catherine Connolly? The University of Leeds, of course.
The college has offered its congratulations to Connolly after the Independent politician, who graduated in 1981 with an MSc in clinical psychology, romped home in the recent election. It noted how as “one of the most prominent political figures in the country”, she would ensure the Constitution is followed and “address the nation at Christmas and on St Patrick’s Day”.
University president Prof Shearer West lauded the fact that “our graduates make significant contributions to public life, health, business, science and the arts around the world”.
Starmer graduated from Leeds with a law degree in 1985 while Muizzu completed a PhD in civil engineering in 2009.
Educational links (and past Labour Party ties) did not stop Connolly criticising Starmer during the campaign over his view that Hamas should have “no future” in any Palestinian state.
“I don’t think it’s up to Keir Starmer to make that statement at all,” she said. “I come from Ireland, a history of colonisation, and I would be very wary of telling a sovereign people how to run their country.”
Roll on the PM’s courtesy call to the Áras.
Co Clare’s newfound lion turns out to be a Newfoundland
“Ireland’s interest in all things mysterious and mythological” goes back to medieval times and beyond, according to Rob Billington who, along with Eamonn O’Neill, co-hosts Monster Fuzz, a podcast covering topics such as cryptozoology and the paranormal.
It’s no wonder, then, that a “mystery” surrounding footage posted on social media of an unusual creature roaming in a west of Ireland woodland created an online stir.
Gardaí received a report on October 29th regarding a video recorded near Mountshannon, Co Clare, which appeared to show a lion-like creature, complete with a mane, roaming in woodland. The force confirmed it was carrying out inquiries into the report and posted an update on its efforts on Facebook midweek.
“Mystery solved,” it stated. “Gardaí from Killaloe have concluded that the recent video of a ‘lion-like’ animal roaming around the woods in east Clare is in fact the very friendly Mouse, a Newfoundland dog who is delighted with his recent viral video clip.”
“Poor fella probably hiding from his mates, what a haircut,” wrote one commenter below.
Billington notes other mystery creatures that have fascinated the Irish over the years including the Morrigan, a goddess that could shape-shift into a crow, and the Dobhar-Chú, a 12ft otter/dog hybrid reportedly seen in Co Leitrim.
“There have been sightings of the Dobhar-Chú ever since the story was first told (in 1722).”
Environmental eyes on Brazil and EPA director general’s office
It’s far from an inspiring time to be an environmental advocate, with EU climate ministers earlier this week opting to water down their climate change mitigation goals in last-minute negotiations in advance of the UN Cop30 summit in Brazil.
Despite repeated warnings that the lack of progress in cutting pollution will have serious consequences in terms of global warming, about a dozen EU states, Ireland included, are projected to fail to hit previous targets to dramatically bring down their emissions by 2030.
At the Environmental Protection Agency‘s headquarters in Wexford, some eyes will be on events in Brazil and others will be on the director general’s office, with a competition under way to find a successor to Laura Burke, who is retiring after 14 years in the role.
The job offers a salary of €207,912 per year, with the successful candidate expected to take responsibility for the overall stewardship and strategic leadership of the EPA, which has 550 staff across eight locations and had a budget of €93 million for this year.
“This vacancy offers the opportunity for the successful candidate to carry out purposeful work that makes a difference and impacts on our society and people,” the advert says.
Another task will be to “present the EPA, along with its mission, work programmes, and services, in a strong and positive manner to stakeholders”.
In 2023 the EPA outraged many agricultural stakeholders after a post on its X account advised people they could be “healthier, wealthier and more fabulous” by cutting down on the amount of red meat they ate.
Internal correspondence highlighted that Burke felt the tone of the post, which was later deleted, had been “too flippant for a complex, important and often emotive topic”.
“We are a serious agency, and while there are times for humour, this was not one,” she said.
