Jim Higgins

Father, husband and ageing runner. Trying to get better all the time while I am still young!😇 Member of @BrosPearseAC and Oh! Yes...Mayo For Sam 2026
😎

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

Today's @Independent_ie column looks at the left's obsession with data centres. Their #1 misinformation space.

https://t.co/bZHMA2sliw

[BUCHANAN: Dublin Time Machine @RobLooseCannon]

The John Players Tops of the Town (JPTOTT) started in Waterford in 1962. A local variety competition started built on the simple but irresistible idea to get ordinary workers on stage who mightnt ever have done singing or drama.

Two years later, Niall O'Flynn, public relations manager for John Player tobacco and cigarettes in Ireland, saw the potential as sponsors, and the cancer stick peddlers transformed it into a nationwide phenomenon. Soon it was operating across eighteen regional competition hubs across Ireland. Companies, businesses, and community groups really threw themselves into.

Its probably hard for younger generations to imagine that literally bosses let employees spend months in rehearsal to put together polished 55-minute variety shows on company time. Although I know a lot of performers used their personal time there was a lot of it during work hours. These shows covered everything from song and dance to comedy sketches and full-scale dramatic productions.

At its peak, JPTOTT was essentially the GAA of amateur performance in Ireland. The national finals drew together the great names of Irish industry and commerce in the most unlikely of circumstances. Waterford Glass faced off against Limerick Insurance. Aer Lingus took on Carrigaline Pottery. Packard Electric squared up to Telecom Éireann.

RTÉ televised the whole spectacle and Marty Whelan took over hosting duties in 1987, becoming as synonymous with the show as the brand of carcinogenic coffin nails in the title. Behind every group that made it to the national stage were armies of writers, costume-makers, set-builders, lighting rigs, and committee members running fundraisers. Oh and abvioulsly all of JPTOTT was unpaid and all of it fuelled by community pride.

On a personal note as a queer who cant stand eurovision or musicals, younger me bizarrely found meself absolutely enthralled watching it. Something about the fact it was ordinary Irish people, dancing their arses off, singing their hearts out. Amateurs they might have been but they were always of a high standard and sincerely trying.

The beginning of the end came quietly in the early 1990s, as larger corporations quietly reconsidered the resources they were committing, and began stepping back. The gap they left was filled by smaller community groups, which in many ways returned the competition to its roots, but the commercial engine that had driven it for thirty years was winding down.

The final blow came from the law itself. A ban on cigarette advertising in 1997 severed John Player's sponsorship. The last televised final was won by Moate. Ironically I missed it as the DTM was stuck in a moat at the Siege of Carrigafoyle Castle due to a leak of asymmetric tachyons.
Across its thirty-five years, hundreds of thousands of people performed, built sets, sewed semi revealing costumes, and also sat in darkened theatres watching their neighbours be stars for the night. Theres something so bleedin Irish about JPTOTT, such a shame its been almost forgotten.

Buy the Dublin Time Machine a pint and support the DTM Book
https://t.co/U7jtCrOTtb

[Jim Higgins @JamesHigg]

@IrishLabourLaw Congrats Anne to you and your Team. Well Done!! 👏👏

[Jim Higgins @JamesHigg]

@adrianweckler Very frustrating experience. However, your headline should read "my story of VW breakdown and their very poor service". I can't see where an non-EV VW car would have been any better of an experience for you.

[Mayo.ie @MayoDotIE]

Dates have been confirmed and registration is now open for the 2026 Castlebar International 4 Days Walks, Ireland’s oldest & most celebrated walking festival.

Taking place from July 2nd to July 5th, for further information visit https://t.co/jeJNnLjVUa

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

Tariffs cause one or both:
- Slower growth
- Higher prices

In today's @Independent_ie I consider which of the two will dominate over the other. Tariffs look set to stick around as the Democrats show no signs of stopping them.

https://t.co/1Tp32nEJ61

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

I'm pleased to share my new website which details the services I'm offering to clients.

I began working self-employed last year and I've already helped several organisations navigate complex issues in the Irish economy.

https://t.co/DLnBU1i5Vu

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

It's a precarious time to be considering a tourist tax in Ireland. If it does go ahead, it should be part of a package that includes hotels in the VAT cut for all hospitality.

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

Two weeks until the MacGill Summer School. @MacGillSchool. Grateful to be speaking on a panel with @SorchaPollak @GaryGannonTD @ClaireHanna and Lata Sharma

Tickets from https://t.co/xOdpaCdC3g

[🎸 Rock History 🎸 @historyrock_]

They don't make intros like that anymore...

A thread 🧵

1. AC/DC - Thunderstruck

[Irish Independent @Independent_ie]

David W Higgins: Ireland is already an expensive to visit – a tourist tax could tip us into a ‘no-go zone’ for many and damage local businesses https://t.co/2nlPMb6E7k

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

In today's @Independent_ie I cover the system of work permits.

The number of permits has surged in recent years amid a hot labour market. That's made solving the housing crisis only more difficult.

Policy direction needs to change. @peterburkefg

https://t.co/hADm1ZfFso

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

"Liberation Day" is tomorrow, with an announcement expected around 9pm Irish time (4pm EST).

I'm writing in today's @Independent_ie about why the Irish economy might just stay afloat through a tariff storm.

[Irish Independent @Independent_ie]

David W Higgins: Rent controls have done their job, but now it’s time for them to go https://t.co/YXUC5wwNwm

[Jim Higgins @JamesHigg]

@higginsdavidw Unfortunately it is not motivation that Mayo needs!💚❤️

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

I'm in the Irish Times this morning on the topic of Australia's hot property market.

I hope a new generation in negative equity won't appear there. Buy with caution.

Share with any of your friends down under.

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

When @dalemcdermott and I launched @nextround_pod, we wrote down our mission - "a young Irish look at the economy, politics and society".

We've covered a lot on the economy and politics so it's time for a social issue.

This week's episode leads with the "dating recession", recently covered by a long-read article in Bloomberg.

It dovetails with the #MilestoneRecession, a theme I first conceived one year ago.

Young people are missing out on the social connections that were much stronger in past generations. Marriage and children now come later in life and some are missing out entirely. Home ownership is out of reach for so many.

Links to the podcast (audio and video) are in my bio.

[Jim Higgins @JamesHigg]

@edmcgreal And well deserved too. He won the vote by a wide margin- 54%.

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

The latest @nextround_pod episode:
- Shoplifting and street theft on the rise
- Fertility is highest in rural areas. Is dense housing a problem?
- Investment fund purchases of Irish homes are way down in 2023

🔗 Audio links and YouTube here
https://t.co/cUxlZ7aVqd
@dalemcdermott

16| UK Shoplifting and Crime Surge, Home Size and Fertility Rates, Councils Dominate Housing Market
Description

Shoplifting in England and Wales has soared to a 20-year peak, with a staggering 60% increase in just two years. This alarming trend, coupled with a surge in street thefts, underscores a growing crisis highlighted by ONS data. We delve into the underlying causes and far-reaching impacts. We also explore how home size correlates with fertility rates worldwide. In the housing market, Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies are outbidding first-time buyers and dominating over "vulture funds," raising questions about the future of the social contract.

[Dale McDermott @dalemcdermott]

🎙️New episode of NEXT ROUND podcast with @higginsdavidw and me is out. After years of political uncertainty, the UK has decisively voted in a new Labour government with a supermajority. We delve into the election results and scrutinise the First Past the Post voting system—has it outlived its usefulness? The new administration hit the ground running, but decades of historically low investment present significant economic challenges for the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves. Meanwhile, France's recent elections yielded no clear winner, marked by a resounding defeat for Macron and a surge in Far-Right support. We examine the current political landscape in France. Additionally, Ireland's Summer Economic Statement outlines the budget parameters for an €8.3 billion package, we look at potential changes to inheritance tax. Links below 👇 @nextround_pod