An ominous start to the week with Storm Debi set to blast Ireland with storm force winds.

A status red warning, the highest level in Ireland for weather events, has been issued for Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Offaly and Westmeath.

Interestingly they have singled out East Galway and South Roscommon even though it looks from the map that North Tipperary, formerly an actual distinct part of the Premier County, should also be included. Especially as Nenagh in North Tipperary is forecast to get 68km/h winds while Birr in County Offaly is only expecting 57km/h and Ballinalsoe, East Galway is only forecast to get 50km/h.

There has to be a better method rather than relying solely on county boundaries, especially as places like Birr in County Offaly is only 1km from County Tipperary.

Anyhow, an orange weather warning is in effect for Tipperary, Carlow, Laois, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Longford, Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan, Kerry and Limerick with the rest of Ireland under a yellow weather warning.

**Update** And indeed, as of 20:32 this evening, Met Eireann have updated more counties to red including: Clare Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway and Roscommon from 02:00 - 05:00 Monday 13/11/2023 with Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Offaly and Westmeath under a red warning from 05:00-08:00. Orange is in effect for most of these counties as well until 10:00.

Keep an eye out on met.ie for updates including upgrading and downgrading of weather warnings.

There is also a status red marine warning, get those boats into harbour.

Keep safe and dry, best not to make any unnecessary journeys.

Irish singer/songwriter Sinead O'Connor has died aged 56.

The famous and controversial musician died today 26/07/2023.

Best known for her late 80s and early 90s work with songs such as Mandinka, Nothing Compares 2 U (written by Prince) she also collaborated with Bono, Peter Gabriel and Roger Waters amongst others.

I was lucky enough to have seen her performing and also to photograph her at Electric Picnic in 2014 where she delivered a powerful performance.

I have posted about Dublin’s Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary before; it sits now beside modern buildings along the south quays on the city’s River Liffey.

Known as the Dockers’ Church it was built in 1863, opened in 1864 and became a parish church in 1908; its quayside position on the busy River Liffey meant that many of the dockworkers frequented the masses held there and today it has a strong congregation of old and new with many of the new arrivals working in Ireland’s tech sector now attending on a regular basis.

Those new buildings, including the one seen here just beside the church, a workplace for some of the new workers in Ireland’s services industry have contributed to some ill-feeling on account of size, shading and overshadowing the church.

As a result, due to local protests, in 2018 the developer of many of these buildings contributed over €3 million to a fund to repair and restore the church and its surroundings. The City Quay school (jigsaw building) received €1 million and the remainder went to the church.

After some works to the front, most of the €2 million has been transferred to the Archdiocese of Dublin; the Archbishop of Dublin is the parish priest of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Currently the interior of the church is in bad condition with damp, mould, decay and in much need of repair, but the parish can’t now use the funds it received from the developers.

The exterior view, seen here with reflections in the calm River Liffey at night, is much more pleasant than the peeling-paint interior.

It’s a story that will continue to provide interest, to someone at least.

Picture the scene, we're a year ahead and it's May 2024, a beautiful sunny day and below us the Baily Lighthouse and Dublin Bay with RTE, Ireland's national broadcaster on the other side.

RTE are preparing to host Eurovision, after Ireland's 2023 entry, Hawaii by Public Image Ltd (PiL) fronted by John Lydon, won the famous music competition in May 2023.

Well, that is the possibility as tomorrow night, Friday 3rd of February 2023 Lydon and PiL will be performing on RTE's The Late Late Show as part of a competition to find the country's entry for this year.

Hawaii is a paean to Lydon's wife of almost 50 years, their life together and one of their happiest moments together, in Hawaii. Nora now is living with Alzheimer's; the song, video and artwork are "... dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most,” says John Lydon. “It’s also a message of hope that ultimately love conquers all.”

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Of course, the show might not be taking place on the shores of Dublin Bay, but as with many of Ireland's, record seven wins it might be held in Millstreet, a small village in County Cork should Hawaii win for Ireland this year marking the 30th anniversary of Niamh Kavanagh's win, the second of three in a row.

As a coincidence I was reading this week the story of how, when the Sex Pistols were having trouble getting a hotel in Manchester in 1976 they turned up to the Clifton Grange Hotel owned by Philomena Lynott, the mother of one of Ireland's most famous rock and rollers, Phil Lynott.

It was somewhat notorious, a showbiz hangout (nicknamed The Biz) for all sorts such as George Best, Manchester United footballers, musicians and local gangsters because the bar was open through to six in the morning when all else was shut.

She told the Manchester Evening News that Lydon and the Sex Pistols were "...the nicest-mannered; I've never forgotten them."

Of course, both of Lydon's parents were Irish with his father from County Galway and his mother from County Cork.

It was on Howth, close to Sutton, that Philomena lived overlooking Dublin Bay when I met her in 2016 and interestingly I was there with someone from Hawaii who remained a good friend of Philomena in her final years.

Indeed, the view above could double for Hawaii on a fine Irish May day.

So, here we are now with Lydon's PiL performing the moving, emotive, personal song on Ireland's longest running chat show, the Late Late with the hope of bringing this powerful song of love to the Eurovision stage.

The Late Late Show starts at 21:30 Irish time on Friday the 3rd of February. Stream it on the RTE Player.