Barometer | 28 May 2011

Irish quarter


Is there any such thing as a US president without Irish roots? The US genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts has researched the origins of all US presidents and concluded that 20 of the 44 US presidents had some Irish family connections. Half of these, however, have been within the past 50 years.

— Until the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961 only 11 out of 34 presidents had had some Irish blood. Since then, nine out of ten presidents have had some Irish ancestry, although it is tenuous in the case of Bill Clinton, in spite of his claim: ‘I mean, I’m sort of… I look Irish’.

— The last entirely non-Irish president was Gerald Ford (in office 1974-1977) who was born Lesley Lynch King in Omaha, Nebraska, and later changed his name to match that of his stepfather. Ford never visited Ireland as president, but then was only president for 29 months. He was also the only president since Kennedy never to have been elected as either president or vice-president by the American people.

Silver lining


Flights were cancelled after an Icelandic volcano, Grimsvotn, sent ash towards the UK. Here are some predictions about the consequences of last year’s ash cloud:

— ‘Airlines to lose $1.7bn’ – International Air Transport Authority, 21 April 2010.

— ‘European Airlines to lose £2.15bn’ – EU Transport Commissioner, 27 April 2010.

Were the dire predictions correct?


— British Airways’ profits hit £158m for the six months to September 2010 – its first profit for two years.

— Ryanair’s profits reached €451m for the 12 months to 31 March 2011, up from €420.9m for the year before.

— EasyJet’s profits rose to £154m in the year to 30 September 2010, up from £54.7m the previous year.

Philosopher prince


The Prince of Wales warned about ignoring climate change while accepting an honorary degree from the London Business School.