To balance my visa-related whining, patient readers, these two snippets paint a broader story.
Ramón, a New York friend originally from the Dominican Republic, writes:
I was sorry to read about the recently instituted indignities at the US
Embassy in Dublin. Making people line up outside the walls has been
standard procedure for decades in many US Consulates throughout the
developing world. I stood in that line numerous times in Santo Domingo when
I was a student. The tropical heat and collective angst make an unpleasant
combination. There’s a merengue that captures the scene very well: “Visa
para un sueño” by Juan Luis Guerra. I’ll have to play it for you sometime.
Embassy in Dublin. Making people line up outside the walls has been
standard procedure for decades in many US Consulates throughout the
developing world. I stood in that line numerous times in Santo Domingo when
I was a student. The tropical heat and collective angst make an unpleasant
combination. There’s a merengue that captures the scene very well: “Visa
para un sueño” by Juan Luis Guerra. I’ll have to play it for you sometime.
And, closer to home, Bernie reminds me what it’s like for Americans working in Ireland. He got thrown in Mountjoy! And deported!
DUBLIN, Ireland — A funny thing happened to me while passing through Immigration at the Dublin Airport. I was refused “leave to land” which means I don’t get to return to my Kilkenny home just yet. Instead, I will comply with an order issued by Detective Garda Michael Walsh, a member of the Garda Immigration Bureau put into place to stem the rise of immigrants to Ireland. As part of this renewed interest in visitors to Ireland, a total of 6444 non-EU nationals were refused to land in Ireland during the past 17 months.
Dervala.com 
St.Patrick’s Day for me was as traditional as ever – cooking an Irish breakfast for some American guests in Nagles Pub and Guesthouse in County Tipperary.
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To me Patrick’s day in Ireland has become a bit of a joke! My hometown, in the last couple of years, has started to run our local parade on the Sunday before the 17th of March. As a result, I think that the meaning of the day has become corrupted.
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