31/07 The Morning JOE

The front pages

‘Pressure grows for a tougher budget’ is the headline on the front page of today’s Irish Independent, with the Central Bank warning that Brian Lenihan’s growth forecasts are far too optimistic.

Lenihan had forecast the rise in economic output next year to be somewhere in the region of 3.3%, but in the Central Bank’s latest quarterly review, they put the rise in economic impact next year at 2.8%, a difference which could mean a shortfall of €300 million in tax receipts next year.

The Irish Times go for a different approach, leading with the headline, ‘Central Bank says economy to grow by over 2% in 2011’. According to a report in the paper, the figure is well above expectations for the euro zone as a whole and that Ireland’s recovery remains well on track.

According to the Irish Examiner this morning, cash strapped unemployed people in this country are doing whatever it takes to put some money in their pockets, with the paper reporting a surge of interest in the clinical trials in this country.

The country’s only contract research clinic, the Shandon Clinic, is receiving about 400 enquiries a month, with the majority of calls coming from people aged 21 to 25. People who undergo trials on medicines not yet licensed for sale can expect to earn €150 a day for their troubles.

Tales from the tabs

We hate to rain on the Irish Daily’s Mirror’s parade, but one of the big stories splashed on their front page is hardly an exclusive, more like a statement of the bloody obvious.

‘X Factor Joe: I’m Gay’ is the headline accompanying a headshot of shy Newcastle lad, Joe McElderry, who won the hearts of teenage girls and old ladies alike while pipping Olly Murs to the X Factor title last year.

We always suspected something wasn’t right, simply because having Cheryl Cole constantly by his side seemed to do nothing for the 19 year old, who finally dispelled doubts about his sexuality in a ‘frank and emotional interview’ featured in this morning’s paper.

Joe, who says he only found about his sexuality ‘three weeks ago’ (pull the other one Joe) said, “I’ve kissed lots of girls but only one boy. I thought, ‘Oh that’s weird, maybe that’s what happens’. I didn’t know what it meant. It was nothing serious, just a one-off thing”, before adding, “I am open to the idea of a boyfriend if Mr Right came along.”

It seems the poor North Korean footballers can’t catch a break. In these pages during the World Cup, we alerted you to the story about a number of the squad who sought asylum in African countries for fear of the reaction they would receive on their arrival back home.

It might have seemed a tad over the top back then, but it seemed they were totally justified as word has come out about the harsh reception received by Kim Jong-Hun’s squad on their arrival back in the country.

According to this morning’s Star newspaper, the Squad were subjected to a six hour verbal roasting for not winning the World cup status, despite their lowly status of 103^rd in the world. The worst treatment was reserved for Kim Jong-Hun, himself, who was made to work on a building site and expelled from the Workers’ Party of Korea.

According to an intelligence source quoted in the newspaper, however, the treatment of the footballers was a mere slap in the wrist compared to some of their athletic predecessors. “In the past, North Korean athletes who performed badly were sent to prison camps,” he said.

The Sports Pages

The Irish Independent and the Star were thinking along the same lines this morning when reporting Kerry manager Jack O’Connor’s diatribe against the GAA disciplinary system and the obligatory criticism of the ‘meedja’.

‘JackLash’ is the headline on both papers’ back pages as O’Connor launched a verbal assault against the GAA for what he deemed to be unfair singling out of Kerry players Tomás Ó Sé and Paul Galvin, who will both miss afternoon’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Down.

“It’s ironic that two Kerry players are the main recipients of GAA justice this year when there are a lot of things going on in other games,” said the Kingdom boss, who also believes that members of the fourth estate reserve special criticism for the green and gold for the simple reason that they want to see an end to Kerry’s success.

“When you’re on the road as long as we are, a lot of people want to see the back of you for the simple reason that they want a new story. I mean what can be new about Kerry that hasn’t been written? Some people are just waiting for our demise,” he added.

All of this morning’s sports pages also carry pictures of a dejected David Gillick, who finished in a disappointing fifth place in the final of the men’s 400 metre final in Barcelona last night. Under the slightly confusing headline, ‘Gillick-ed’, the Sun carry quotes from the Dubliner, who was “absolutely gutted beyond words”.

“That was my chance of getting on the podium, my chance of getting a medal, all that type of stuff, but that’s all gone out the window now,” he said.