O’Conall Street

I attended a lecture by the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind to mark the launch of the University of Ulster Real Estate Initiative last night. Built environment is big business in Ireland and rapidly becoming a global enterprise for our top tier developers. The initiative is a public private partnership involving some of ireland’s leading property figures, the university of Ulster and Harvard University.

Libeskind was a musician before he decided to adopt architecture as a profession. The creator of so many iconic buildings in every continent he has more gongs then I have had birthdays. He had this message for Ireland. Development is a central proposition of humanity and buildings the the homes of human greatness. They only succeed in peace. Conflict restricts life and buildings need the elixir of humanity to succeed.

He also believes in simple value for money. Take the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, an amazing building built on a small budget. The impact is in the design not in the finish. The genius is in human intervention and creativity transforming a brown field site behind Old Trafford into a celebration of peace and a lesson to us all of the futility of war.

Born in post war Poland, he is your classic post conflict, post nationalist like so many Europeans of his generation. A rare breed on these shores, he builds for people. He believes in communities, shared space and urban freedom. Take a recent project in Beirne Switzerland which will bridge a huge motorway ring around the city with a wooden clad mixed development to incorporate a hotel, shopping centre, leisure centre and housing. The motorway connects Beirne with Germany and France but divides the city. He saw the opportunity to bridge the gap with amazing style creating a destination in nowhere. Imagine the Westlink bridged by such a project?

He talked about the new Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin and triple glazing with great design. Then ground zero. The day that changed his life and the project which above all will be his legacy. The hallowed sites  will remain, the footprint of the twin towers never to be built on again. They will be protected by a freedom tower 1776 feet tall and several other buildings. Yes there has been compromise in the design following extensive comnsultation in Manhattan but then compromise is central to democracy. That says Mr Libeskind is why he will never work for a totalitarian regime.

The lessons for us were clear. Be ambitious. Use regeneration to bring people together. Bridge divides and demand value for money and never forget buildings are expressions of liberal art. It was a pretty stimulating lecture. But is this city ready for such a liberal post nationalist built environment?

That is the big question this Ash Wednesday.

For the great northern press corp nominations for the 2008 CIPR Press and Broadcast Awards are now open and entries can be made online. Click here  for more. 

In the US Barack continues to challenge winning most of the states whilst Hillary continues to fight on scooping most of the delegates. The Republicans look likely to nominate the likable John McCain. More fun for us junkies and even more exciting campaigning techniques to analyse.  Will be checking in with Real Clear Politics for all the analysis.  It’s a great way to pass the dark months.

Closer to home Brazil come to a sell out croker tonight. The big question is when will there be a nominee for manager. Players are getting p…… off and I am getting bored.

O’Conall Street has been swept up in nomination fever too. We were very humbled to receive three nominations in the Irish Blog Awards. After just five month’s in cyberspace it’s great to get some acknowledgement - a big thanks to all those who took the trouble to nominate us. We are in the running for:

Best Business Blog 

Best Political Blog

Best Newcomer

Off to dodge the ashes today. Ever the catholic agnostic….

Yes.

We did it.

The nation’s faith has been restored. Shoulder to shoulder the fifteen warriors are answering Ireland’s call.

Just proves the saying, if you want a job done right get a woman to do to.

O’Conall Street salutes the Irish ladies rugby team on their comprehensive defeat over Italy yesterday. Mna na hEireann strike again.

All eyes now turn to Croker this afternoon. Can 15 professional men match the women and put to bed the embarrassing world cup performance of 2007?

Apparently you can get a corporate ticket for a fiver if you really want to. That’s some change from the glory of England v Ireland just a year ago.

Come on lads. The economy is on the turn. The winter has been long and cold. Under the iron sky of Dublin in the freezer put some pride back in that jersey. Your country needs you.

3.00pm.Half time.

The winter has done the boys good. Much better than the summer but still a long way to go. Second half is an opportunity to prove they have properly crossed the rubicon. Fingers crossed. Eoin Reddin is settling in well.

4.00pm.

God they have a lot of work and some praying to do before next Saturday in Paris. Too many dodgy substitutions. What’s the score taking man of the match Reddin off with ten to go?

Eddie is still sitting on his perch in the glorious Hogan stand but for how much longer?

Bottom line since the world cup is that this team is serially underperforming. All the talent - no bloody confidence.

Arts & Business an organisation we are members of here in Weber Shandwick published the results of an annual survey of business investment in the arts yesterday.

 The headline figures across the UK are impressive enough with business investment in the arts up 11%. The situation in NI is disappointing and it is the only region showing investment down by nearly 10%. This depressing statistic is not all that surprising. Despite our huge cultural heritage on this island we are showing very little commitment to our new and emerging artists. The first draft of this year’s Executive budget was very disappointing and only improved after a major public campaign by the Arts Council. Even at that levels of investment here still lag well behind the rest of the UK and the rest of this island.

 The FT had a good piece highlighting the survey findings. Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of Arts & Business, commented: “Private investment is now growing faster than public income. This is good news at a difficult time for some in the arts. These record figures are recognition of the work of countless individuals and companies whose energy and imagination have connected the UK’s cultural and commercial worlds and made our cultural life genuinely the envy of the world.”

Economic growth in Northern Ireland has handsomely outstripped the rest of the UK in the past five years and you would think there is more moeny to invest than ever before. They could well follow the example of our landlord, Ewart Properties, which has invested heavily in art for our wonderful building on Linenhall Street or even James Nicholson Wine Merchant who has incorporated modern Irish art into his new premises in Crossgar.  

Until then in a UK context London will remain the epicentre of the growth accounting for 64% of all private investment. Other parts of the UK will continue to embarass NI with strong growth such as that experienced in the West Midlands (61%), Scotland (49.7%) and North West (48.1%) .
 
By art form, theatre (up to £68 million), museums (up to £86 million) and festivals (up to £25 million) saw the biggest increases, though dance (down to under £8 million), opera (down to £13 million) and libraries (down to £3 million) all fell. Visual arts, music and literature all saw slight decreases.

I was elected Chairperson of the CIPR in Northern Ireland and am looking forward to a year as the spokesperson for an ever changing industry.

With over 9000 members the CIPR is the largest professional body for public relations and public affairs practitioners in the world. 60 years old this year and going from strength, it has been active in Northern Ireland for 42 years.

I have a hectic year to look forward to with the only PR driven press and broadcast awards in these islands in April, the all Island PR awards in June, a major all island conference to mark our big anniversary in the autumn as well as the prestigious Northern Ireland PR awards in November.

I hope to post regularly on the activities in this exciting, albeit temporary role.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and former Chief Constable of the RUC, was today the subject of one of the oldest journalist tricks in the box, the doorstep.

 Having evaded interview since the collapse of Sean Hoey’s trial in December, Channel 4 and Victor Barker’s persistence paid off when the artful dodger was trapped in the camera’s lights as he left a meeting with Mr Barker who’s son was killed in Omagh.

This is fair game in my books. Ronnie Flanagan has big questions to answer and his failure to do so to date has cast a shadow over a reputation which had survived a damning police Ombudsman’s report and serious political attack.

When the question was put Flanagan was masterful as always in his reply. An unequivocal and apparently heartfelt apology to the families was forthcoming followed by a series of considered and conciliatory remarks about the failings in the police investigation and the hurt this will have undoubtedly caused the families. He told Channel 4 it was on his watch and so it was for him to say sorry but that is where it stopped. He would not be resigning and Chief Inspector of Constabularies.

In communications terms Sir Ronnie demonstrated that even the most undesirable doorstep can be contained if calm is maintained and a simple message communicated. His actions do beg a very big questions however. Why the radio silence to date? I always tell the kids its never too late to say sorry but Ronnie Flanagan is no kid, he is one of the most calculated and effective communicators in these islands and tonight his reputation remains damaged by the long silence which has been so damning. The doorstep did its job. It broke the silence and allowed the debate to continue. Having spoken once it will be near impossible for Ronnie Flangan to return to purdah.

 I’ll post a link to the story when it appears on Channel4’s website.

 On another matter entirely Mr Flanagan might wish to share some private advice with Mr Wallace Thompson, the Special Adviser at the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment who yesterday fell foul of the other end of the journalistic spectrum and gave an interview to RTE which clearly he should never have. Enough said on that matter as I suspect it may well be the last we hear of Mr Thompson for a very long time. First rule of PR. Always have a good think about what the impact of a message might be before communicating it.

Weber Shandwick Belfast account manager Chris Brown and myself are waiting patiently in the departure lounge at Heathrow for what will be a very delayed flight back to Belfast.

The BBC is running wall to wall coverage of today’s near miss on the north runway and airside thousands of British Airways passengers are queueing for a bed as the carrier grounds its entire shorthall fleet.

The mood is calm and the customer commications are working well. BA appear to be handling their media message well although a worrying report in this evening’s Standard reports that a BA plane on route to eastern Europe in October 2005 lost all power for 90 seconds. Not good given initial reports suggest today’s crash landing was as a result of another total systems failure.

Off for a stroll around the terminal now. Will keep you posted.

The PR gurus at Weber Shandwick petitioned O’Conall Street for this post. It is by the way, our hundredth blog: a milestone in our little blogosphere and an occasion to thank everyone who has visited to date.

The question de Jour: Is Britney the Victim here?

Sonya Cassidy, PR doyenne and Britney fan is upset at the way this 20th century starlet is being exploited by the media. She is particularly upset at the Paparazzi. Ms Emma Buchanan, our polyglot Account Manager, blames the parents and the two ladies on the fence are Cathy Kapande and Alison Park. Hang on, Alison is not on the fence anymore and has just asked to make a statement (a lawyer by training and occasionally asks to make statements in the office). 

“I think she is a victim. The whole Timberlake thing wrecked her. Then she cheated on him so really she was responsible for all that”

 Hold on, Sonya has something to say

“If Kevin had behaved responsibly she wouldn’t be in the state she is in”.

“No”, says Cathy. “You can’t blame him for a $55 wedding in Vegas. She’s trash and she always will be”. Ouch!

Chris Brown is in reflective mood. He is sitting out the argument which is now engulfing the office. Bitch? Who? “Britney, thats who” say’s Chris before going back to the finer points of Energy regulation.

Actually, after another five minutes of  informed debate it turns out it’s not the parents fault after all, it’s Disney’s! “It’s not where dreams come true, it’s where nightmares begin” according to BeBo. “You’d never have that sort of slander on FaceBook” says Chris and we all agree. Lets face it, Disney is where she met Justin and Christina Aguilera and its been downhill ever since. So young, so corrupted. And if you want proof there some bloke who is now a woman who used to be famous for valuing antiques when he was a kid who also blames fame for it all.

This is meant to be a serious blog about interesting matters. All I did was ask for some suggestions about today’s post.

Now they are talking about Jude Law, the b……… ! who is back treading the boards. Any takers? I’m afraid not. He is still officially the most boring man on the silver screen.  

 So what’s the moral of the story?

1. Never start writing a blog about Britney and expect it to make sense.
2. Never try and write a blog about Britney to make serious point. The office just won’t let you.
3. Never, ever ask your colleagues to tell you what you should be writing about ( they will always say Britney) and;
4. Hillary may not be as likable as Barack or as hip a Oprah but at least she’s nowhere nearly as screwed up as Britney.

I have just looked round and they are all working again. Thank God.

No matter what happens on Tuesday in New Hampshire, last night in record numbers, the people of Iowa set in train a revolution which could go all the way to the White House. Barack Obama is talking a new language and connecting with new voters many of whom are republicans and independents. Last month O’Conall Street highlighted the Obama campaign’s recruitment of advocates and its ability to ignite interest in those who have sat out the primaries in the the United States for the past thirty years. But then it was just academic commentary. Last night it became a powerful reality. 

He delivered a great victory speech which no matter what happens next, will join the pantheon of historic oratory and deservedly so. He it set to excite and delight anyone who believes politics is where dreams can be realised, where hope can be vindicated and where change can really happen.

I have to confess I got this one wrong. I read both Obama’s books whilst travelling in the States last year and found them a little too good to be true. They are motivating and inspirational, all message but not big on substance. Maybe I have been in communications too long but I really did have big doubts about whether this beautiful dreamer could deliver the goods. Yet last night they came together in the freezing Iowa night, democrats, republicans and independents to change America.

Amidst the chants of USA, USA, USA, the new face of American politics took his victory with grace and determination to push on to New Hampshire, Super Tuesday and Super Dooper Tuesday mobilising those who have never turned out for a caucus or a primary.

Obama came to prominence at the 2004 Democratic Convention. He made a great speech (you can watch it here) and at the time it looked like the torch was being passed from Bill Clinton, the white man with a black heart to the black man with a big dream. After a decade in politics I was unwilling to believe he could do it. But even after that great speech he was still an unknown with a wonderful gift of the gab. Soon after his speech my wife came back from an academic conference on Leadership to tell me that during a paper dealing with charismatic leadership Obama’s picture was shown and nobody could identify the young black senator who had stolen the convention. Maybe nobody could name him, but the fact that he appeared in a paper dealing with charisma was significant in itself. America was clearly beginning to notice. 

God, but its good to be wrong sometimes. I am enthralled at the prospect of his campaign continuing and in his own words, despite all the evidence to the contrary, making hope a rallying call and change the message.

His dream will be challenged again on Tuesday. But fair play to Barack, he has got people talking. He is only the second politician I have known to use the lines on the back of the US coin, et pluribus unum, from many we are one. The first was John Hume.

 Ps: For an insightful analysis of where the democratic primary season will reach it’s own D Day read Richard Delevan’s post on Brassneck. If the American on Dublin is right all of us should be watching South Carolina with interest.

Ugh. Getting out of bed and getting on the train on the first day after Christmas is never easy. Belfast’s continued reliance on the public service was notable as I emerged into the less then busy city centre this morning.

 08 promises to be a big year for the Northern Ireland capital. The US investment conference takes place in the Spring, more new 21st century shopping will come to town in March and the city’s new brand should also be launched before the summer.

Dublin can also look forward to an interesting year. Will the Celtic tiger eventually run out of puff? Are Bertie Ahern’s days numbered and, most importantly, will the Sam Maguire be heading back to the capital in September?

Stretch in the evenings already…..