West Virginia University - News and Information Services
WVU hosts Irish Times environment editor March 20
West Virginia University is hosting the environment editor of The Irish Times who will speak about the “Celtic Tiger” economic boom and its unintended consequences for Ireland’s culture and environment at 3 p.m., Tuesday, March 20.
Frank McDonald will speak on the topic, “How Ireland Has Handled Being Rich,” in the Mountainlair’s Mountaineer Room on WVU’s Downtown Campus. The event is free and open to the public. A light reception with coffee and refreshments will follow the presentation.
Until the early 1990s, Ireland was one of Europe’s poorest nations. Its so-called “Celtic Tiger” economy has now transformed it into one of world’s richest countries, with a gross domestic product per capita that is higher than Britain’s.
However, the unforeseen costs of this new-found prosperity include high levels of immigration, urban sprawl and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
McDonald is from Dublin and now lives in Temple Bar, the city’s cultural quarter. He has been one of the environmental correspondents for The Irish Times since 1986.
He is the author of several books, including “The Destruction of Dublin” and “Saving the City.” The books helped to change Irish public policy on urban renewal. In 2006, McDonald was awarded an honorary doctor of philosophy degree from the Dublin Institute of Technology. He is also a founding member and Writer in Residence of the Academy of Urbanism of Great Britain and Ireland.
The event is co-sponsored by WVU’s Institute for Public Affairs, housed in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, and the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism.
For more information, contact Kevin Leyden, director of the Institute for Public Affairs, at 304-293-5432 or Kevin.Leyden@mail.wvu.edu.