Tallaght Earthquake
At 00:54 on Friday 11th May 2007, an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale hit northern Tallaght causing untold disruption and distress. Many were woken well before their dole check arrived.
Several priceless collections of mementoes from the Balearics and Spanish Costas were damaged. Three areas of historic and scientifically significant litter were disturbed. Thousands are confused and bewildered, trying to come to terms with the fact that something interesting has happened in Tallaght.
One resident, Jasmine-Demi Spencer, a 17 year old mother-of-three said “It was such a shock, little Chantal-Leanne came running into my bedroom crying. My youngest two, Tyler-Morgan and Mariah-Britney slept through it.”
Thankfully though, looting did carry on as normal.
The Red Cross have so far managed to ship 4000 crates of Budweiser to the area to help the stricken masses.
Rescue workers are still searching through the rubble and have found large quantities of personal belongings including benefit books and jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
€3 buys a 10 pack of Silk Cut to ease the pain of 2 stricken families.
€10 can take a family to Clondalkin for the day, where children can play on an unspoiled canal bank among the national collection of used shopping trolleys.
22c buys a biro for filling in a spurious compensation claim.
PLEASE ACT NOW
Simply email us by return with your credit card details and we’ll do the rest!
If you prefer to donate cash, there are collection points available at your local branches of Argos, Pound World and The Square Shopping Centre.
Were YOU up all night again!
Oh dear! What will happen if there are aftershocks?
grandad WTF http://kuipercliff.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/british-earthquake-appeal/
The government’s primary aim at the moment is to make sure that the Luas stays on track.
Popyeye – Good God!! It’s happening all over the place. A terrorist plot or a Skobie culling policy?
nice bit of middle class derision and snobbery there
Upper Class, if you don’t mind….
A nice piece of indigenisation of a British story!
Can you still buy packets of ten?
On a serious note, social welfare recipents often have more disposable income than many working people. When RTE ran ‘Searching for the Pope’s Children’ last autumn, the strongest reaction was against the woman whose rent was paid and who said she only had €400 per week in benefits. A working man would have to have to earn over €40,000 a year to have €400 cash after he has paid his rent.
When the economic downturn comes there are some nasty resentments that could manifest themselves.
Ian,
It always seems to be the lower to middle income earner who carries the brunt. At the bottom end of the scale, there are allowances and benefits, medical cards and the like. At the top end, they can afford tax avoidance schemes. It’s always the family in the middle that gets hit.
Speaking for myself, I am on a pension style salary that is way below the average income. I don’t have a medical card. I am not entitled to any Social Welfare benefits. The only benefit I have is that I don’t pay tax simply because I’m below the threshold.
Popeyemoon,
This has been around for a few years now, in various forms. The one I posted was rehashed by someone at the BBC (I think) after the pathetic earthquake that ‘hit’ SE England a couple of weeks back. I just added some pictures of the ‘devastation’. Yeah, it’s a cheap jab at chavs, but who cares? No-one wears Burberry and expects to pass unnoticed.
I posted it because a couple of days earlier I’d written a short piece about a real earthquake in Alaska in 1964. Check it out.
It’s a coincidence this came out the day after my post, right? I’ve not heard of any ‘quake in Tallaght. If it’s not a coincidence, perhaps a link would be in order.
That’s great value for a day out in Clondalkin…
Snobbery, nay, I applaud your efforts, Grandad.
Socialism belongs in the 20th century if you don’t mind.
@KuiperCliff – You will not believe this, but it is pure coincidence! A case of great minds thinking alike? I had it sitting in reserve for the last week or so, and posted it today, as I was running an experiment in WordPress.
I remember that Alaskan earthquake. It made headlines around the world. And I agree about the English one – a few chimney stacks? They haven’t a clue!
@Caro – Yes. I should have revised that figure!
@Dario – I knew that would appeal to you.
Grandad,
I believe you! Great minds thinking alike? I dunno – fools seldom differ, perhaps?
I’m an Englishman living in Egypt, but Slainte! to you.
It’s hardly socialism to point out how easy it is to dump on Ireland’s poor.
I wouldn’t pay too much attention to anecdotal evidence because for every story you hear of someone making a lot of money on the dole there are 10 more about OAPs freezing on paltry pensions, families who can’t afford childcare and single mothers who will lose their medical cards if they take on a menial labour job. It’s a complex thing so I don’t go in for anecdotes too much.
And the earthquake ‘joke’ has been around for years, that’s why I groaned when I saw it.
Sorry about that, PP. Normal service has been resumed.
PP,
The only evidence I have is from people I try to help, including a Traveller family whom I know well.
The welfare system has trapped people in poverty. It will always be at a low level, otherwise why would people work? Yet it penalises people who try to lift themselves out of it by immediately taking away all their entitlements when they get a job instead of having a tapered system. I know a couple trying to pay their mortgage and all their bills and bring up their son on a wage of €25,000 p.a.
There needs to be some joined up thinking in Government.
I take your point Ian. The ‘penalties’ you talk about are what I’m going on about re:medical cards.
And yours Grandad.
Inspired by the Galway text doing the rounds?