Irish Examiner view: No shaking off seismic Taylor Swift production
Heads of state pay personal homage when Taylor Swift's tour arrives in their countries. Picture: PA
On Friday, Taylor Swift plays the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, the first of her three concerts in the capital, though that bald statement hardly does justice to what will unfold over the weekend.
The term ‘concert’ itself may be a little inadequate in describing the power of Swift, who seems half musician and half independent jurisdiction, complete with diplomatic relationships and economic ties with less bejewelled satellite nations.
Her endorsement of a candidate in the upcoming US presidential election is awaited eagerly — and nervously — as though it were a Papal imprimatur.
Heads of state pay personal homage when her tour arrives in their countries, like an entire royal court on pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.
The fiscal effects of this long-running tour are mulled over as Swiftonomics, a distinct branch of the dismal science, and when the actual concerts take place, the response of her fans can be measured by seismographs, which are more usually used for earthquakes.
In the case of a concert in Seattle, the audience reaction shook a stadium and registered on the Richter Scale.
This reception for Swift is reminiscent of the description of Xerxes’ Persian army, which made the earth shake on approach.
Evaluations of the music seem almost beside the point, in fact. Swift’s influence on contemporary life is all-but gravitational in its power. Contrarian takes by those who don’t believe in the true faith — call them Swinfidels — are drowned out by the vast fandom, its Irish chapter now beyond anticipation and fixated on the specifics of Swift lore which revolve around the live events.
What surprise songs will feature in the Dublin gigs? How exactly will Kam the dancer express his love for Ireland? Will Travis Kelce be in Dublin for the concerts? Will his brother Jason Kelce?
Will I have enough friendship bracelets? Will you have enough friendship bracelets?
It’s Taylor Swift’s world. We just revolve around it.
Terrible news emerged from Waterford yesterday, where two teenagers travelling on an e-scooter were killed in a collision with a bus.
The crash occurred in the early hours of yesterday morning and one teenager was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other teen, who was also travelling on the e-scooter, was taken to Waterford University Hospital for treatment for serious injuries but died yesterday afternoon.
It follows a separate tragedy in the North, where a 14-year-old boy was killed in a quad bike accident in Derry on Tuesday. Isaac Roxborough was riding the quad bike near Eglinton when he crashed, and he died of his injuries later in hospital.
Often the reaction to news such as that coming from Waterford in particular is a reflexive call to re-examine legislation in that specific area, a demand for tighter regulation, and harsher penalties.
Yet legislation was enacted in Ireland as recently as May to govern the use of e-scooters.
A closer look at that legislation shows that while e-scooters are now legal on Irish roads, a variety of conditions govern their use. One of those conditions is that only one person may ride an e-scooter at a time.
Regarding the use of quad bikes in the UK, legally one may be driven on UK roads but riders must be at least 17 years old and hold a full car driving licence.
It is always dangerous to extrapolate general conclusions from individual cases, and that warning is pertinent here. The obvious point to make is that the legislative measures mentioned above are in place to ensure the safety of all road users, including those operating both quad bikes and e-scooters.
Such safety provisions must be acknowledged and enforced in order to avoid such tragic accidents in the future.
Party leaders Rishi Sunak of the Tories and Labour’s Keir Starmer met for a televised debate, but Sunak was on the back foot during the debate because of a controversy which has been rumbling on for some time.
It is alleged that Craig Williams, one of Sunak’s closest political aides and now a Tory election candidate, bet on the date of the election before it was announced.
This is the very definition of insider trading, using privileged information to gain a financial advantage, and as a result Williams is under investigation by the UK's Gambling Commission.
That body is also investigating another Tory candidate, senior party officials, police officers, and a Tory member of the Welsh parliament for the same reason.
As a premise for broad farce or crude satire this could hardly be bettered. Or could it?
The betting scandal reached a new level of sophistication earlier this week when it was alleged that Tory candidate Philip Davies had bet against himself in the upcoming election, putting £8,000 on losing his seat in the Shipley constituency.
Perhaps this is the best illustration of how unhinged British politics has become, when politicians are trying to line their pockets by losing rather than gaining office.
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