Poignant page from the Examiner

The Irish Examiner always manages to respond to major Irish stories with spectacular front pages - and it certainly didn't disappoint yesterday over the EU bailout. In the middle of this page is a replica of the country's Proclamation of Independence from 1916. 

The original begins: 

IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood, Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.

The Examiner's version begins:

IRISHMEN AND IRISHWOMEN: In the name of God how have we come to this? And in the name of the dead generations from which she received her old tradition of nationhood,Ireland, through our new masters at the European Central Bank summons her children to her financial sovereign funeral.

The original concludes: 

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God, Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is called.

The Examiner's versions concludes:

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God - Mammon. Whose blessing we invoke upon our debts, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by casino cowardice, insolvency, or economic rapine. In this supreme hour of failure the Irish nation must, by its memories of valour and discipline and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice their financial futures for the common good of the international money markets, prove itself somehow worthy of the august destiny to which it has now called time on.

Poignant stuff. Some of you might remember the Examiner's front page from September 2005 when the IRA put its weapons out of commission. The page was made up of the names of the 3,530 people who lost their lives in the Troubles. They ran from side to side in 18pt, with the text changing from light to bold to form the silhouette of an IRA  gunman.

Great ideas, great journalism, great layout - and a reminder how effective print journalism can be.