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Irish Examiner
26-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Ballincurrig House in Cork's Douglas is a rarity - an intact Georgian home hiding out in the 'burbs
BALLINCURRIG covers a lot of diverse properties in Douglas, Cork, from the 1950s Ballincurrig Park housing estate in a cul de sac loop; to a pair of ornamental cast iron gates replete with shamrock at the entrance to former stables, now mews houses; to Ballincurrig Villa, and Ballincurrig House. Ballincurrig townland Douglas Ballincurrig also crops up in the address of a number of one-off houses in Douglas, including here, at Ballincurrig House itself, and its red-brick gate lodge behind electric access gates, all out of sight on the South Douglas Road. A true Georgian era home with roots put at 1820, Ballincurrig House must be one of a very small number of authentic, remaining period homes in the stretch between Douglas Village and Cork City. When built 200 years ago, it was in pure countryside, a far cry from what's now wall-to-wall 21st century suburbia….notions of a vast array of later 19th, 20th and now 21st century mass housing, shopping centres, and cafes must have been the very last thing on its original builders and family owners' minds. Georgian grace This elegant and quite simple Georgian home would have followed the likes of Douglas's far grander Maryborough House (1730s) and Vernon Mount (1790s) in Grange, with other homes of the 19th century around Douglas including at Eglantine, Endsleigh Knockrea House, and Tramore House, with the latter two dating also to the 1820s. Most of the era are gone, or vastly altered, or have lent their rich names to housing estates that got build on their lands. Others, like Vernon Mount, stand (or fall?) as a crime of neglect after arson claimed it a decade ago. This is all to the point that true, original older Georgian homes in and around the southside suburb are rare birds indeed. Hideaway As Ballincurrig House, out of sight and private on a 0.8 of an acre off the South Douglas Road, comes to market, with a €1.25m guide price, it has value on lots, and lots, of fronts. It's a rare home type, has huge retained integrity and architectural delights, and is in a very strong location. It has more than 3,000 sq ft, over two-three main internal levels, is in good physical shape, entirely habitable but in need of TLC and sensitive 'modernising', and exudes its own charm too, ready to be enhanced. Happy half landings It has been the private home of a member of a Cork business family, primarily in the hospitality sector, and has been maintained over their decades of ownership, while various 'new' developments and infill schemes crept in around it, such as Skehanore, Cuasnog and Ashdene, Glencurrig, and even the 'new' Nemo Rangers GAA pitches. It's set more directly to the south of a Texaco station and semi-detached homes at Briarville on the back of South Douglas Road: yet, given the maturity of the trees ringing its c 0.8 of grounds, you'd never know they were there, or vice versa or, even where exactly you are. Selling agents Malcolm Tyrrell and Brian Olden of Cohalan Downing are set to start viewings. Mr Tyrrell says: 'There have been so few sales of proper detached Georgian Cork city and suburban homes in recent years, this should be seen for what it is, a prize: it's a wonderful 19th century period home with charm and character, with very many of the original features including cornicing, ceiling roses, fireplaces, stained glass, sash windows and the like all intact.' Quietly distinguished (and not too much larger than many modern Douglas area and Tiger times' era detacheds) Ballincurrig House is three-bay, with hipped slate roof and deep eaves, with porch with limestone hearth stone, timber sash windows rendered façade and front façade windows unusually decorated with stucco lion's heads. Internally it has central hall carpeted and painted a deep red with that colour carrying up over half levels to the top of the house, with typically high ceilings with decorative plasterwork, and formal reception rooms left and right, both double aspect with good chimney pieces, while behind is a dining room and utility, with kitchen annexe off to one side. One of the five bedrooms There are up to five bedrooms of varying sizes (two are double aspect, with bathrooms, over the next upper levels/off half landings, with elegant staircase with slender spindles and polished woof handrails connecting all the levels. Despite its venerable age, Ballincurrig House is not a protected structure, has an E1 BER, central heating and security alarm, with mature grounds and a side lawn big enough for a tennis court. VERDICT: The Property Price Register shows c 50 €1m+ sales with a Douglas Cork address: this year has seen several houses in the locale offered at €1m-€2m+ price tags, are under offer or sale agreed at this sort of level. Ballincurrig House is about to join that burgeoning number, with a bright future ahead of it too.
Time Magazine
20-05-2025
- General
- Time Magazine
María José Iturralde
The destruction of the Amazon rainforest often perplexes outsiders, who might attribute it solely to corporate greed. But for many forest inhabitants, there are often 'literally no other alternatives to make money' but by clearing land for cash crops, says María José Iturralde, executive director of Fundación Pachaysana, an Ecuadorian nonprofit that partners with Indigenous communities to restore the rainforest. Iturralde is flipping that script. In 2019, Fundación Pachaysana launched its Humans for Abundance program, a radical intervention that involves paying locals to become stewards and restorers of their ancestral lands. Today, 12 families receive monthly paychecks to collectively revitalize 370 acres of what was once farmland and protect another 740 acres of pristine forest. For Iturralde, the mission is personal. Her grandfather, the former president of Ecuador, signed a resolution while he was in power that absolved Texaco, a U.S. oil company, from responsibility for dumping billions of gallons of toxic wastewater into the rainforest, contaminating an estimated two million acres. Iturralde says. 'I feel like my own grandfather is righting the wrongs through me.' Through the foundation, Iturralde, a former teacher, also operates the Forest School, which teaches local children Indigenous knowledge and promotes the ecological value of the Amazon, cultivating the next generation of restorers.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Oakwood man arrested for attempted armed robbery at Gainesville Texaco
The Brief Douglas Arnell Ward Jr. was arrested for an attempted armed robbery at a Texaco gas station in Gainesville. Surveillance footage helped police identify Ward, who fled the scene but was later found and arrested on Industrial Boulevard. Ward faces several charges, including armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. GAINESVILLE, Ga. - A 29-year-old Oakwood man has been arrested in connection with an attempted armed robbery at a Texaco gas station on Browns Bridge Road, according to Gainesville police. What we know Douglas Arnell Ward Jr. is accused of entering the store during the early morning hours of May 15, producing a handgun and demanding money from the clerk. The clerk, protected by bullet-resistant barriers, immediately contacted law enforcement. Ward fled the scene on foot before officers arrived, but investigators used surveillance footage to identify him. Officers later located Ward on Industrial Boulevard and took him into custody. What's next Ward faces multiple charges, including armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, theft by receiving, and shoplifting. The Source The details and mug shot in this article come from the Gainesville Police Department.
RTÉ News
14-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Forecourts feel pinch over north-south price differences
Forecourt owners in the Republic say the almost 25% difference in fuel prices north and south of the border is damaging their businesses. There are reports that several petrol stations have closed as customers travel to Northern Ireland for cheaper fuel. The disparity in prices was the reason that a Texaco filling station in Muff, Co Donegal, which straddles the border, was forced to close. It once employed 50 people and the owner, Colm McKenna, had been in business for 25 years. "The difference in prices north and south meant that it was no longer sustainable for us to continue in business," Mr McKenna said. "We were in business here in Muff since 1999 and when the excise duty costs were better for us in the south, it was viable, but the large difference excise duty and the carbon taxes now meant we had to close, because we lost €100,000 last year," he said. "We had no choice but to close, and it's a shame for the staff, because there aren't many jobs here," Mr McKenna added. The increased cost is down to higher excise duty tax and carbon tax in the south, according to the Chief Executive of Fuels for Ireland, a national lobby group for the liquid fuel sect "When the war in Ukraine broke out, the Government cut excise duty to help with the cost of living and the British government did likewise. But, the Government here reinstated it again, and this is putting huge strain on our members," Kevin McPartlan said. "Businesses along the border are really feeling the pinch, indeed several have already closed. We have raised this with the Minister for Finance and we will be lobbying to get excise duty reduced," he added. The Department of Transport said with regard to the price differential between average retail prices in Northern Ireland, it was important to note that a number of factors affect the final retail price of fuels including energy market dynamics, wholesale pricing, individual retail pricing policy, transport costs, exchange rate fluctuations and taxation. "It is acknowledged that price differentials in a cross border context can give rise to 'fuel tourism' whereby individuals can legitimately purchase fuel from another territory for their own use," a spokesperson said.
Business Upturn
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Intellectual property: The business that shapes the world
The stable Internet connection, the noiseless run of modern electric cars, the security of a banknote – all these now seem like simple realities. However, beneath the surfaces of all the essential things lies a hidden world of intricate research and design, which necessitates a crucial yet often unseen aspect: intellectual property and its protection. This extensive business safeguards ideas that make innovations possible, and a deeper look into its nature gives us understanding of the vital force shaping the world around us. Our daily life is full of avant-garde things: the speedy and soft ride of an electric car, the Internet that brings the entire world in our room, the colorful hologram on a banknote that instantly proves the money is genuine. These items have already become essential to our lives, which sometimes makes us take them for granted. However, their true nature isn't that simple – everything that is invented and used is in fact a culmination of extensive research and design. Each such fruit of intellect, that is, intellectual property, is protected to safeguard and motivate the work of designers and engineers, secure comfortable user experience and prompt general advancement of our society. But is the concept of intellectual property (IP) really necessary? We have just said that products of the human thought contribute to the overall development, so why not make them freely available for anyone wishing to improve them? What happens when patents fall in wrong hands The question above is not really that simple. Any usable invention is born after thousands of hours of work and millions of investments, and lack of proper IP protection opens the door to criminals, leaving inventors and innovators unarmed and unmotivated. The humanity came to understand this many decades ago: for instance, Honoré de Balzac, the French 19th century writer, describes in his 'Lost Illusions' novel how an inventor of a cheaper way to produce paper falls victim of unscrupulous patent practices and loses everything. And reality can be even worse than fiction: in some cases, developments that fall into the wrong hands can slow down overall progress, as happened with batteries for electric cars. In 1989, Stanford Ovshinsky, an inventor, created a novel nickel-based battery that outperformed modern battery technology in terms of cost, safety, and power. Five years later, he sold the patent to General Motors so they could use it to create the EV1, the first mass-produced electric vehicle in human history. After evaluating the technology, however, GM decided to continue with their traditionally powered cars, and sold the invention to the oil merchant Texaco. Ovshinsky visualized a future where cars would be clean and efficient, but the improper patent conditions struck his dream out. His battery technology was licensed to a series of petrochemical corporations; the terms of the licensing restricted the use of the batteries in hybrid cars and, in effect, outlawed their use in completely electric cars for a while. The current pace of development of electric vehicles (EVs) is indicative of the impact of this restriction. Several years ago, lithium-based batteries, used in modern vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV, were only just nearing the performance of the genuine EV1 technology. Consequently, their cost of production was considerably more compared to gasoline cars, which hampered the EV industry progress and resulted in millions of tons of CO2 emissions that could be avoided if the technology was used properly. Does intellectual property protection really benefit all of us? Now, mistakes in the IP use can lead to grave consequences. Nevertheless, proper protection brings great benefits not only to the inventors themselves, but also to the users, as the example of modern banknotes shows. In the world of banknote printing, where forged bills can erode public trust and destabilize economies, intellectual property acts as a crucial line of defense against counterfeiters. One of the industry's most prominent players, French security printer Oberthur Fiduciaire, is an excellent example of the efforts in this field: the company invests heavily in research and development, constantly innovating security features like intricate microprinting patterns or embedded holograms. Expanding the IP base in this industry requires a lot of effort and money, and sometimes comes from synergy of two, like the French printer's recent acquisition of a stake in micro-optical security solutions provider Rolling Optics. The cooperation of two innovators has already resulted in Anima , a high-tech micro-lenses security thread that is complex, yet easy to authenticate by the end user. The company's other patented product offers an even better example of the profit-for-everyone concept. Bioguard , an anti-pathogen technology for various items by Oberthur Fiduciaire, protects health of millions of users around the world, and is intentionally kept affordable for other producers to ensure that it is targeted for everyone's benefit. Does Oberthur Fiduciaire (and other banknote printers) really need to try its hardest? In fact, yes – and the Superdollar crisis of the early 2000s serves as a stark example of this. While the Superdollars, that is, the US dollar fakes, were initially considered some of the most sophisticated counterfeit notes ever produced, their relatively low-tech security features ultimately contributed to their downfall. Unlike modern banknotes, which often incorporate advanced security features, the Superdollars relied on more traditional techniques, such as offset printing and the use of medium-quality paper. This lower quality ultimately helped the security forces identify all the forged bills – which wouldn't be possible if the genuine bills were simpler and the technology of their production wasn't strictly protected from criminals. How protected inventions help shape the modern world Oberthur Fiduciaire and other positive examples of civilized IP use demonstrate the importance of the concept to everyone – and our next case shows how proper patent handling helped offer a stable and reliable WiFi technology for everyone. In the 1990s, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) started developing a new technology for enabling wireless communication among computers. The concept was to create a way that could facilitate smooth communication among devices without requiring physical connection. Following extensive research and development, CSIRO submitted a patent application for the technology in 1996. The patent laid the foundation for modern WiFi connection and ultimately transformed how we communicate and obtain information – but the development wasn't as smooth as one may imagine. During the early 2000s, SET and Symbol Technologies claimed ownership of patents related to different facets of the wireless connection. This caused a sequence of legal disputes that jeopardized the overall progress of the wireless data transfer, but, in spite of these challenges, the genuine standard still laid the basis for modern WiFi. In no small part, this was due to the efforts of CSIRO and their co-researchers at Bell Labs, who protected their patents vigorously and, eventually, ensured that WiFi remained unrestricted and could be used by millions of users across the globe to access information and stay connected. Outlook for the future Essentially, intellectual property is an indispensable companion of human progress that follows us from the time of ancient Greece to the present day. The concept serves as the invisible engine driving innovation in our everyday lives, and safeguards the ideas and designs that shape the world. By incentivizing creators and fostering healthy competition, strong IP rights ultimately benefit consumers with a wider variety of high-quality goods and services. At that, the landscape of IP is constantly evolving. As technology races forward, with artificial intelligence playing a growing role in design and the digital realm presenting unique challenges, we must ask ourselves: how will the industry adapt to these new realities? In addition, there is the problem of protection of the invention process itself: many technological innovations, for instance, are based on mathematics, but mathematical calculations are not protected by patents. Not only this opens the door to thousands of new inventors, but also inspires patent trolls who want to misappropriate the fruits of others' intellectual labor. These issues show that the search for a perfect IP protection concept must go on, and finding the right balance between protecting creators and fostering the potential of new technologies will be crucial for shaping a future filled with groundbreaking advancements.
