Word: gael
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...sprinted into the lead like an Irish steeplechaser in a field of Clydesdales. But then the jumps got higher. Undercut by the tensions in Northern Ireland and voter discontent over inflation (21%) and unemployment (11%), Haughey saw his lead evaporate. A strong finish by the opposition Fine Gael (Family of the Irish) party, headed by former Foreign Minister Garret Fitzgerald, 54, turned the contest into Ireland's closest election in 20 years. Result: an inconclusive draw with every prospect of a prolonged crisis as each of the contenders tries to form a new government...
After last week's opening round of bargaining to piece together a coalition, Fitzgerald seemed to have a slight edge. Haughey and Fianna Fáil had won 78 of the 166 seats in the new Dáil (parliament), compared with Fine Gael's 65. The balance of power lay with the small Labor Party (15 seats), whose new leader, Michael O'Leary, showed a marked distaste for the outgoing Haughey government. It would be "very remarkable indeed," O'Leary said, if his party linked up with Fianna Fáil. On the other hand...
...then, technical expertise traditionally characterizes the G&S Players' productions. The costumes, designed by Gael Simonson and Christie Brown, are lavish, lovely creations. John Magouin's sets are equally pleasing. The somber Murgatroyd castle lurking behind Magouin's pretty village scene is an especially inspired touch. Musical director Richard Hoffman deserves credit for a minor miracle: the orchestra nearly perfectly accompanies the singers--quite a feat considering the Agassiz's notoriously miserable acoustics...
...perceived by the people of Ulster, who are deeply religious and who accord a certain preeminence to their beliefs. The conflict is still essentially the contention of two faiths, traditions that are inseparably intwined with racial origins and conflicting historical aspirations. Traditionally, the Catholic is an Irish Gael, a descendant of a people who predated British domination. The Protestant is a descendant of Scottish immigrants, whose succesful colonization of Ulster was an instrument or that domination. Religion animates the political contentions, gives them their violent intensity, and explains their centuries-old persistence...
...Irish Republican Army, and that a Fianna Fáil government would repolarize the situation in Ulster by stirring up suspicions among its Protestant majority. Fianna Fáil favors eventual withdrawal of British forces from Northern Ireland and peaceful reunification of North and South, while the Fine Gael downplays unification and seeks to allay Protestant fears...