Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Joe Raedle, Kenny Holston/Pool, and the U.S. Navy via Getty Images
The war between Israel and Iran resumed yesterday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied President Trump’s request to stand down, with the two nations exchanging attacks — Israeli strikes on Tehran and Iranian missile launches toward Tel Aviv, Axios’ Barak Ravid writes.
Why it matters: The attacks last night and this morning are the most significant escalation since the April 8 ceasefire, and threaten to unravel the Trump administration’s negotiations with Iran and draw the U.S. back into the war.
“Israel and Iranmust immediately stop shooting,” Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning.Israel first attacked Beirut, then Iran responded by launching a barrage of missiles toward Israel.
Behind the scenes: Trump told Netanyahu during a call to hold off because “we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal,” a U.S. official told Barak.
A U.S. defenseofficial said the U.S. military wasn’t involved in the Israeli strikes, which he described as “relatively limited.
“Iran had threatened to expand its attacks and target U.S. bases in the region if Israel retaliated.
Further exchanges of fire could unravel the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran and reignite the war.Keep reading.
Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump is raising the idea of the U.S. government taking stakes in AI giants — not out of populism, but with a dealmaker’s eye for profit, Axios’ Dan Primack and Maria Curi write.
Why it matters: Government equity in private companies — anathema to free-market capitalism and Republican dogma about “picking winners and losers” — is a signature of Trump’s second term.
The big picture: Companies like OpenAI and Anthropic may soon be worth trillions. So even small stakes could be meaningful to the federal government.
For example,a 2% stake in a $3 trillion company works out to $60 billion.
That gives the government a financial incentive to help these companies grow, which dovetails with Trump’s existing laissez-faire AI policy.
Zoom in: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Trump share an instinct that the government should capture a piece of AI’s windfall. But they would slice the pie very differently.
Sanders proposes requiring top AI companies to pay a one-time 50% tax in stock, flowing into a sovereign wealth fund that distributes gains to the public. Trump is discussing voluntary equity stakes that would give the government a direct cut of AI companies. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday he wants Americans to be partners “in this revolution.”
“As far as economics is concerned, we have certain things that aren’t that far apart,” Trump said of Sanders.
Behind the scenes:Populists may sense the White House tide turning on AI, given the recent departure of AI czar David Sacks, and Saturday’s announcement that deputy Sriram Krishnan will leave at the end of the month.
Neither left over policy disagreements. Sacks’ time as a special government employee was up, and he still advises the White House. Krishnan plans to launch an AI consulting group and will remain in Trump’s orbit.
Sacks has publiclycautioned against the government taking stakes in Big AI. But that’s mostly because of his libertarian leanings and what it could mean with Democrats in power — not because he believes Trump has gone soft on accelerationism.
What’s next: Trump said he plans to meet in the “very near future” with tech companies to discuss what a partnership with the government could look like.
Nvidia-linked home AI hosting could let some homeowners trade unused electrical capacity for lower monthly utility costs.
The idea is simple: a compact outdoor AI compute box would be installed at a home, and the host could receive discounted electricity, high-speed internet, energy intelligence, and backup power. The system being discussed is XFRA, a distributed data center concept powered by SPAN and built around Nvidia RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs.
Instead of relying only on giant centralized data centers, many small residential nodes would work together as one cloud for AI inference, the stage where trained models answer questions, generate content, or run real-time tasks.
Each XFRA node is designed as a self-contained outdoor unit with 16 Nvidia RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs, 4 AMD EPYC CPUs, 3 TB of memory, fiber networking, liquid cooling through a 35,000 BTU heat pump, quiet operation around 60 dB, and a 15 kWh battery for reliable node power and home backup during outages.
The April 2026 XFRA white paper says U.S. data center power demand could reach 74 GW by 2028, with a projected shortfall of about 49 GW in available power access. SPAN also says its smart electrical panels are certified to the UL 3141 power control systems standard. This is not a broad public sign-up program yet. The first stage is a 100-home proof of concept focused on U.S. residential new construction, with wider expansion planned later if the model works.
Baby Boomers face a money crunch in old age — even if they have a lot of money.Getty Images
The Baby Boomers have most of the wealth and power in America, so why are they so angry when this gets pointed out?
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In recent weeks, a collection of economic data and explanations of structural forces preventing important things like housing affordability, household formation and economic mobility have provoked many responses—some thoughtful, some angry, some even defensive, but increasingly urging me to look beyond the reliable generational framing.
“Your article is gross,” one wrote to me.
“There is no balance in the world we live in!” another said, adding, “a golf ball is a golf ball no matter how you putt it. So is the economy! Adapt!”
Another gave me a sense of the angst felt when broad macro strokes don’t capture the reality on the ground for every micro-case: ” You write like every boomer is sitting on a McMansion and a seven‑figure IRA,” one bereaved Boomer wrote to me. “A lot of us are one bad diagnosis away from losing everything.”
Still another wasn’t much of a hater at all, but wrote with wistfulness about what’s gone down. “Many boomers are poor, scared, and anxious about the life they have left,” they wrote. “They were led to believe that if they worked hard and climbed the corporate ladder you would eventually be able to be financially secure and retire at 65 and enjoy their ‘golden years.’ Many tried this approach but ran into misfortune along the way.” Either there was a layoff at 55 to 60 years old, unanticipated health issues, or others.
“Life happens. For many boomers, the golden years are not golden, and they don’t have much to look forward to. Their bodies are broken and they are still in debt. They are trapped in a life without a way out and their future does not look golden. Yes, they live longer, but for too many of them, not better and certainly not in a way they expected when they were younger.”
It speaks to the very real sense many Boomers have that things weren’t supposed to end up like this. The generation that rode cheap college, rising home prices, and the 401(k) revolution into late career was expected to bow out gracefully, freeing up houses and jobs for their kids and grandkids. Instead, millions are hanging on—staying in big homes they can’t quite afford to leave and in jobs they can’t quite afford to quit—because they’re confronting a grim reality: in financial terms, they are broke and living too long.
A generation that can’t afford to retire
Roughly 30 million “peak boomers” are turning 65 between 2024 and 2030. Two‑thirds of them will not be financially prepared to maintain their pre‑retirement lifestyles, according to an analysis by ALI Retirement Income Institute economist Jason Fichtner and colleagues that modeled their assets, expected lifespans, and spending needs.More than half have $250,000 or less in retirement savings—before health shocks, market downturns, or long‑term care—which means they will lean heavily on Social Security and work income to get by.
Vanguard’s research on “young baby boomers” reaches a similar conclusion from a different direction. Only about 40% of workers in their early sixties are on track to sustain their standard of living in retirement; the typical near‑retiree faces about a 24% income gap, roughly $9,000 a year. Other surveys find that nearly half of boomers have less than $100,000 saved and about a quarter have nothing set aside at all, despite being at or near traditional retirement ages. For a generation that could easily spend 20 to 30 years in retirement, the math does not pencil out.
Dan, a 71-year-old who retired in 2021, wrote to me of his “head-down and plow-in-the-dirt mentality,” claiming he never missed a day of work in 18 years at a mechanic shop (third shift.) But in the past two or three decades, “we all (not just Baby Boomers) saw our spendable income shrink. How far is it going to shrink? No one knows. Not only that, many of our benefits have been substantially reduced or completely taken away.”
Although it’s true that he has acquired what look like “substantial bank accounts,” he worries about assisted living costing $10,000 a month. “No Baby Boomer wants to be in that situation but it is always in the back of our minds.” The only recourse is to keep working or to hang onto what they worked for — there is no choice about passing on wealth to the next generation when the economy feels precarious.
Dan gets at the core mismatch. A Stanford Center on Longevity analysis notes that a healthy 60‑year‑old woman today has more than a 50% chance of living to 90 and roughly a one‑in‑three chance of reaching 95; men aren’t far behind. Yet surveys as far back as the mid‑2010s found that only about 30% of workers aged 55 and older had accumulated $250,000 or more in retirement savings, even as actuaries were projecting 25‑ to 30‑year retirements as increasingly common.
Even if Boomers planned well for retirement, then, how could they plan for an explosion in lifespan and cost-of-living crisis? A widely cited survey from the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council found that 60% of boomers thought they needed less than $1 million to retire comfortably, and large shares underestimated their likely lifespan and overestimated their Social Security benefits. That combination—optimism about benefits, pessimism about how long they would live—helped produce a cohort that, on paper, owns more wealth than any in history, but in practice includes tens of millions of people who will struggle to finance the last third of their lives.
Stuck in big houses
The housing market is where this financial anxiety becomes concrete. Boomers and older Gen Xers own a disproportionate share of the nation’s three‑bedroom‑plus homes, including many in desirable urban and suburban neighborhoods. They bought those houses when prices were lower and interest rates were modest; many now hold mortgages with rates below 4% or own their homes outright.The reason boomers don’t move isn’t just sentiment—most boomer homeowners (about 54%) have no mortgage at all, so there’s little financial pressure to sell. A Redfin analysis of 2024 Census data found that empty-nest baby boomers (one- to two-adult households) own 28% of U.S. homes with three or more bedrooms, compared with 16% for millennial households with kids.
Housing economists talk about a “mortgage lock‑in” effect: when you have a low fixed rate and a large unrealized gain, selling and buying even a smaller place can raise monthly costs once you factor in today’s higher rates, taxes, and fees. That’s exactly what many older homeowners describe. A couple in Phoenix wrote that they “cannot afford to sell our home and move,” noting that one‑bedroom apartments now rent for more than their mortgage and that senior living facilities are out of reach. “We are not rich, just comfortable at the moment,” they said—emphasis on “at the moment.”
This attitude extends down to generations, based on a darkly funny exchange I got with a certain Gen Xer. “I do live in a 6400-sq-ft house with a $3 million view that’s paid off. I just want to say that if my continued existence can possibly make any younger people more miserable, broke, and whiny, then it’s all worth it. Sincerely, a Gen X who worked hard and has no problem with the younger generation paying high rent for crappy apartments while they build zero equity. Did you hear that sound? It was my heart breaking for the younger generation(s) (not).”
When I followed up to ask why younger generations seem whiny, I got a nice picture of that $3 million view, and the explanation, “I have no idea, but anytime I go on social media young people are complaining about their inability to buy a house or a car. I worked seven days a week most of my life for what I have; no one ever heard a single complaint out of me and they never will. And for the record, I am a hard-core liberal Democrat and always have been.”
An unequal pig in the python
None of this is evenly distributed. Wealth data show extreme inequality among older Americans: early work using the AHEAD survey found that households with someone 70 or older in the top tenth of the wealth distribution held around 2,500 times as much wealth as those in the bottom tenth, and more recent work finds that inequality has widened further since the late 1990s. Older Black and Latino households, renters, and those with chronic health conditions are far more likely to enter late life with low assets and high debt.
The letters reflect that divide. At one end is the anxious, under‑saved retiree doing everything possible to stretch limited assets. At the other is the California homeowner who bought for just over $1 million and now sits on a home worth more than $4 million—but worries that selling would trigger close to $1 million in combined federal and state taxes. In the middle is a broad group that describes itself as “fine, but not secure” and treats staying in place—physically and professionally—as the only rational option.
A system built for shorter lives
It is easy to frame this as a morality tale about selfish boomers strangling the economy they built by refusing to move or retire. The reality is more structural, and in some ways more damning. Over several decades, the U.S. shifted retirement risk from employers and the state onto individuals just as lifespans were lengthening and housing and healthcare costs were exploding. Defined‑benefit pensions gave way to 401(k)s; long‑term care remained largely uncovered; tax and housing policy rewarded holding onto appreciating property rather than making room.
Boomers largely followed the script they were given: work hard, buy a house, save in tax‑advantaged accounts, rely on Social Security to fill in the gaps. Many are now discovering in their late 60s and early 70s that the script did not account for a 90‑plus lifespan or for the cumulative effects of wage stagnation, market crashes, and runaway medical costs.Seen from the outside, they look like a wall of retirees hoarding houses and jobs; seen from the inside, they look like a generation quietly terrified of running out of money before they run out of years. To then be blamed for this structural issue, instead of recognizing its reality, seems a bridge too far.
A 69-year-old real-estate consultant wrote to me to say that this reporting echoes conversations he often has with his two millennial children and five millennial nieces and nephews. “I have systematically and factually compared my affordability when I bought my first house with them,” he wrote. “In every analysis, the cost of homes were less, interest rates were much higher, the quality of the homes and the areas I could afford were not close to what they want.” Most millennials, he argues, are unwilling to do what needs to be done to get a house,” whether that’s save more to buy a house in a nicer neighborhood or pursue a house somewhere less fashionable. Overall, the added, this is “not a generational issue (though that’s is one the influences), but one of economics. It’s the sheer number of Boomers that creates the problem you describe, not the Boomers themselves.”
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History of mines Doolin Noughaval Michael Comyn Co Clare
Thought for 50s
The phosphate mines in Doolin (Toomullin townland) and Noughaval, County Clare, were developed in the 1920s–1940s primarily for phosphatic shale used in fertilizer production. They are directly linked to Michael Comyn (1871–1952), a local barrister, Fianna Fáil Senator, Circuit Court judge, and amateur geologist from the Ballyvaughan/Lisdoonvarna area.
en.wikipedia.org Comyn discovered the deposits in 1924 while pursuing his interest in geology and chemical research. He opened three successful mines within about ten miles of Ballyvaughan (the exact third mine is less documented in local accounts but may relate to associated mineral deposits, including possible tin). The Noughaval and Doolin operations were the main ones tied to the query area.
dib.ie Discovery and Private Operations (1924–1939)
Noughaval (near Kilfenora, ~12 km east of Doolin): Comyn identified a band of phosphatic shale on the eastern edge of the outcrop. He removed 50 tons in 1924 for economic testing and another 100 tons in 1925. Planning permission was granted for an opencast quarry (around NGR R 205 964, near a stream swallet). It operated as an open-cast site for a few years but closed before 1933 due to high overburden removal costs and the discovery of richer material elsewhere. The site was later landscaped and returned to agriculture. pegasuscavingclub.org
Toomullin (Doolin area): Comyn found a higher-quality outcrop here and developed larger opencast workings, focusing on the bed of the Aille River and adjoining land (from near O’Connor’s Bar upstream toward Poll an Fhia).Workers used earthen dams to divert the river for access.Removing the impervious phosphate layer caused the Aille River to sink into the underlying limestone and the Doolin Cave system—a change still visible today (the river only reaches the sea in high flows). He ran these as private operations (associated with the Clare Phosphate Company) until around 1939. pegasuscavingclub.org
Comyn’s early extractions were small-scale but proved the viability of the deposits. Government Takeover, Underground Mining, and WWII Era (1939/1942–1947), Phosphate imports (mainly from North Africa) were disrupted by World War II, so the Irish government’s mining company, Mianrai Teoranta, compulsorily acquired Comyn’s operations (sources vary slightly between ~1939 and January 1942 under emergency powers).
dib.ie
The Noughaval site remained open-cast and closed in 1946. facebook.com
At Toomullin/Doolin, the government expanded into underground mining (pillar-and-stall method) from 1941, with adits (e.g., No. 1 and No. 5) and a 33 m service shaft. The nearly horizontal phosphate bed averaged about 1 metre thick. At peak, it employed nearly 700 men and was one of Ireland’s largest mining projects. Processing facilities included crushing, drying, and other infrastructure (some ruins, like the compressor house and spoil tips, remain visible today). pegasuscavingclub.org
A notable incident: an accident in the skip (due to equipment failure) killed one worker and injured others; a government inquiry followed.
pegasuscavingclub.org Archaeological finds during 1941 riverbed work included a bronze zoomorphic penannular brooch, stone ring, boar tusks, and copper coins.
pegasuscavingclub.org Note on fluorspar: The broader Doolin area had a separate, short-lived fluorspar (fluorite) prospect investigated by the government (1943–1947) on a hillside above the village. It was unproductive, yielded little ore, and was abandoned due to instability and poor mineralization. It was not part of Comyn’s operations.
pegasuscavingclub.org Closure and Comyn’s Compensation Case (1947 onward)
The mines closed in 1947 (Doolin) once postwar imports resumed, as local processing costs were about £3 per ton higher than imported phosphate. Total production across the operations reached around 85,000 tons.
en.wikipedia.org Comyn sued the government for inadequate statutory compensation in one of the longest civil cases in Irish court history (1949–1950). He was awarded £20,320 plus 4% interest from January 1942. However, the government later reclaimed much of it through income tax arrears based on his own production figures. dib.ie +1Legacy
Comyn’s work highlighted the Burren’s mineral potential and led to his appointment as chairman of the Irish mines commission in 1932.
dib.ie Today, the sites are of historical and caving interest (e.g., documented by groups like the Pegasus Caving Club), with some buildings and machinery remnants from the government era still visible near Doolin. The phosphate workings are no longer active, and the area has returned largely to agriculture and tourism.
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The case taken by Michael Comyn against the Gov, his counsel Sean MacBride and Brendan East, is it still a precedent case in legal terms
Thought for 38s
Yes, the case Comyn v. Attorney General [1950] IR 142 remains a precedent in Irish law.
cambridge.org It is a reported High Court decision from 1950 (heard before Mr. Justice Kingsmill Moore) and has been cited approvingly in later judgments and legal commentary on key constitutional and property principles. It has not been overruled and continues to be referenced in modern contexts.Key Facts of the Case (Matching Your Description) Michael Comyn (then retired Circuit Court judge) sued the State for additional compensation after the government compulsorily acquired his phosphate mining rights and operations in County Clare (Doolin/Toomullin and Noughaval) in January 1942 under Emergency Powers Orders during WWII. The initial statutory compensation was deemed inadequate. Seán MacBride acted as senior counsel, with Brendan East also part of the legal team (sources describe East’s involvement in the team, consistent with family and contemporary accounts). The hearing was lengthy—one of the longest civil cases in the Irish courts at the time—and Comyn was awarded £20,320 plus 4% interest from January 1942.
canisgallicus.com Why It Is Still a Precedent, The case established (or reinforced) important principles that remain good law:
The State (Ireland) as a juristic person:It affirmed that the State has legal personality and can be sued for compensation when it compulsorily acquires private property interests (including mineral/mining rights). This was foundational in later leading cases such as Byrne v Ireland [1972] IR 241, where the Supreme Court relied on Comyn (alongside Commissioners of Public Works v Kavanagh [1962] IR 216) to hold that the State can be directly sued and has no general immunity. en.wikipedia.org
Compensation for compulsory acquisition:It addressed the assessment of fair compensation where the State takes over private rights under emergency or statutory powers, influencing discussions on property rights under Articles 40.3 and 43 of the Constitution (unjust attack on property rights and the State’s power to acquire land/property with compensation). jstor.org
It has been cited in:
Constitutional and private-law analyses (e.g., 1971 Irish Jurist article on private law aspects of the Constitution). jstor.org
Cases on state liability and tort/property (e.g., McCauley v Minister for Posts and Telegraphs [1966] IR 345, which approved Comyn). ie.vlex.com
More recent references in property/compensation disputes. casemine.com
While the core modern framework for compulsory purchase compensation is the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act 1919 (as amended), Comyn remains relevant authority on State liability, the proper defendant (Attorney General), and valuation of acquired rights (especially non-standard interests like mining concessions). It is still treated as good law in legal texts, lecture notes, and judgments.
studocu.com In short, while not one of the most frequently cited everyday cases today, Comyn v Attorney General [1950] IR 142 is an enduring precedent on the State’s accountability for compulsory acquisition of property and its suability as a juristic entity. Family accounts (including from descendants) have also described it as remaining precedent in legal circles.
canisgallicus.com If you need the full judgment text, specific paragraphs, or how it applies to a particular modern scenario, let me know!
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Originally Comyn and Briscoe gold mines avoca Wicklow can you elaborate
Thought for 40s
Yes, this refers to Michael Comyn’s (the same KC, Senator, and later Circuit Court judge from the Clare phosphate story) earlier 1930s gold-prospecting venture in the historic Avoca/Wicklow gold-mining district, in partnership with Fianna Fáil TD Robert “Ben” Briscoe.
canisgallicus.com It predates (and ran somewhat in parallel with) his more substantial phosphate operations in County Clare, reflecting Comyn’s long-standing amateur interest in geology and mineral prospecting.
Historical Context of the Area
The Avoca valley (particularly the Gold Mines River near Woodenbridge and Croghan Kinsella mountain) was the site of Ireland’s only recorded gold rush in September 1795. Placer (alluvial) gold was discovered in the river, sparking a short but intense rush that yielded an estimated 80 kg (roughly 2,570 troy ounces) of gold before the military took control.The area had long been mined for copper (from the 1720s onward), and the 1795 find was in the same mineralised zone. By the 1930s, the southern extension of the “Wicklow lode” was seen as potentially viable for modern prospecting, though earlier 19th-century attempts had produced only limited results.
en.wikipedia.org The 1934 Lease
Under the new 1931 mining legislation, the first Irish government prospecting lease for the Gold Mines area was granted on 1 November 1934 to Michael Comyn KC and Robert “Ben” Briscoe TD. It covered 982 acres across three townlands near Woodenbridge in County Wicklow. A second lease for an additional 2,000 acres nearby was also issued around the same time.
canisgallicus.com Comyn’s geological knowledge (which had already led him to the Clare phosphate deposits in 1924) and Briscoe’s political connections were key. Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass issued the lease; both men were prominent Fianna Fáil figures.
The Sub-Lease and Operations
Comyn and Briscoe did not operate the mines themselves on a large scale. They sub-leased the rights to a UK mining company (linked to Mr M.E. Heiser, later operating as Wicklow Mines Ltd.) in return for £12,000 worth of shares plus royalties on any gold extracted. The UK firm planned to raise capital on the stock market to fund exploration and development.
canisgallicus.com The Comyn & Briscoe lease ran from 1 November 1934 to 30 April 1936, after which it passed to Wicklow Mines Ltd (9 October 1936–8 December 1938). A predecessor lease had been held by a Mr G.H.C. Norman in 1933.
heritage.wicklowheritage.org Production was minimal. Official records from the period show only trace amounts—e.g., approximately 1 oz 11 dwt 12 grs during the Comyn/Briscoe phase—with later holders also reporting very limited yields. No commercial-scale gold mining resulted. Family accounts note that any small quantities of Wicklow gold were reportedly used for items like altar ornaments or a wedding ring presented to the Catholic and Church of Ireland archbishops of Dublin.
dib.ie Controversy and the 1935 Tribunal
The granting of the lease sparked allegations of political favouritism. In the Dáil, Cumann na nGaedheal (later Fine Gael) TD Patrick McGilligan accused Lemass of preferring Fianna Fáil colleagues. Lemass responded by establishing a Dáil Select Committee inquiry (chaired by Labour’s William Norton) in 1935—one of the earliest tribunals of inquiry in the new Irish state.
canisgallicus.com The hearing was notably brief (just over two hours). Lemass defended the decision on the grounds that public representatives should be treated the same as any other citizen applying for a licence. The committee found no evidence of wrongdoing or financial benefit to Lemass, and the matter was cleared without political fallout. It highlighted early Irish concerns about probity in licensing but was resolved quickly and cheaply compared to later tribunals.
canisgallicus.com Connection to Comyn’s Broader Career
This Wicklow gold venture was part of Comyn’s wider mining interests, which began with his 1924 discovery of phosphatic shale in Clare (leading to the Doolin/Noughaval operations discussed previously). His expertise earned him the chairmanship of the Irish Mines Commission in 1932. The Wicklow project was more speculative and short-lived than the Clare phosphates, which became a major (if later nationalised) operation. Comyn’s geology hobby thus spanned both gold prospecting in Wicklow and phosphate mining in the Burren.
dib.ie In summary, the “Comyn and Briscoe gold mines” were a 1934–1936 prospecting lease in the historic Avoca gold district that generated political scrutiny but yielded little actual gold. It was a classic example of 1930s Irish mining entrepreneurship—leveraging political and geological connections—during a time when the state was keen to develop domestic mineral resources. The sites themselves saw no major development and remain part of Wicklow’s rich (but mostly copper-focused) mining heritage today.
If you’d like details on the exact townlands, the full tribunal minutes, or how this fits with later 20th-century exploration in the area, just let me know!
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Explore the 1935 Tribunal of Inquiry details
Thought for 37s
The 1935 Dáil Select Committee inquiry (formally the Select Committee on Mining Rights, with its Interim and Final Report on the “Demise of Certain Mining Rights”) was one of the very first tribunals of inquiry in the Irish Free State. It examined allegations surrounding the 1934 granting of a prospecting lease for gold and other minerals in County Wicklow to Senator Michael Comyn, K.C., and Deputy Robert “Ben”/Bob Briscoe (both Fianna Fáil members). The inquiry was prompted by opposition claims of political favouritism by Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass.
canisgallicus.com Appointment and Dáil Debate (25 June 1935)
On 25 June 1935, the Dáil debated and passed a motion to establish the Select Committee. The motion, moved by Lemass himself in response to remarks made the previous week by Deputy Patrick McGilligan (Cumann na nGaedheal, later Fine Gael, and Lemass’s predecessor at the Department), directed the committee to investigate specific allegations about the lease.McGilligan had implied (without direct accusation) that the lease for 982 acres (later expanded) in the historic Gold Mines River area near Woodenbridge was granted preferentially because Comyn and Briscoe were political associates of Lemass and Fianna Fáil. He suggested this could harm State interests in a tightly regulated economy where licences were valuable. Lemass strongly defended the decision, arguing that public representatives should be treated exactly the same as any other citizen applying for a licence—no more, no less—and that there was no evidence of impropriety or personal financial benefit to him. The debate was contentious, with discussion over the precise terms of reference, but the motion passed and the committee was formed. Labour’s William Norton was appointed chairman.
oireachtas.ie Proceedings and Minutes of Evidence (25 September 1935)
The committee sat for a single day (Wednesday, 25 September 1935), commencing at 11 a.m., adjourning at 1:30 p.m., and resuming at 3 p.m. The entire inquiry lasted just over two hours—a stark contrast to modern Irish tribunals that often run for years and cost millions.This brevity has been highlighted in historical accounts as emblematic of early-State probity inquiries.
independent.ie Primary witness: Senator Michael Comyn, K.C. (sworn and examined at length). Deputy Briscoe was not called in the available minutes, and no other major witnesses (e.g., Lemass, McGilligan, or Department officials) appear to have given evidence in the extracted sessions. Comyn’s testimony focused on factual details of the application, prospecting, sub-leasing, and expenditures rather than directly rebutting political allegations.
archive.oireachtas.ie Key elements of Comyn’s evidence (drawn from the official Minutes of Evidence):
Application and granting process: Comyn and Briscoe (with an initial third party, Mr. Norman, who later withdrew) applied after amateur prospecting in the Lyre/Goldmine Rivers area. They had prior geological knowledge (Comyn referenced his Clare phosphate work). The lease was granted under the 1931 mining legislation with a 4% minimum royalty (plus a clause giving the State half of any sub-lease royalties). Comyn noted the Department was aware of their expertise and that the lease included safeguards (e.g., Minister could assess financial/technical capacity before any full mining lease).
Prospecting and costs: They spent over £250 (Comyn’s share paid in full), employing 2–6 local men. Small quantities of gold were found in auriferous gravel (tested at ~22 carat, with positive expert reports).
Sub-leasing arrangements:In March 1935 they sub-leased rights to a UK-linked private company (Risberget Ltd./Mr. M.E. Heiser and associates) in return for £12,000 worth of shares + royalties (6¼% to lessees). The deal required £80,000 capital investment and Minister’s approval. Comyn insisted it was to remain a private company (he refused public flotation to avoid “sharks” or risking public money post-Wall Street Crash). The sub-lease later lapsed without full investment/work.
Financial benefits and State interests:Comyn emphasised that the State stood to gain significantly (minimum 12–15 shillings per pound of profit via royalties, tax, etc.). He valued the shares at £12,000 based on expert (Mr. Dunn’s) reports estimating high potential returns from the deposits. No debts to workers or traders; one minor complaint was resolved.
No political angle in testimony: Comyn stressed joint efforts with Briscoe (who was initially reluctant), local employment potential, and that all dealings were transparent and in “perfect agreement.” He refuted any implication of special treatment, noting the lease terms were standard and protective of the State.
The committee probed details such as gold discovery dates, sub-lease negotiations (including failed attempts by intermediaries like Harrison), and comparisons with other leases. No dramatic revelations emerged; the tone was factual and technical.
archive.oireachtas.ie Findings and Outcome
The Select Committee’s report (interim and final, dated around late September 1935) cleared Lemass, Comyn, and Briscoe of any wrongdoing or improper conduct. It found no evidence of political favouritism or that the lease harmed State interests. Lemass’s core defence—that elected representatives had equal rights to apply—was upheld. The inquiry accepted the transactions as legitimate commercial prospecting efforts in a new mining regime.
canisgallicus.com The matter was resolved quickly and at minimal cost, with the Dáil accepting the outcome without further controversy at the time. Retrospective references (e.g., in 1947 Dáil debates) simply noted it as a precedent for a properly constituted committee inquiry.
oireachtas.ie Historical Context and Legacy
Broader setting: This was the first major post-independence inquiry into alleged ministerial favouritism in economic licensing. Elaine Byrne’s book Political Corruption in Ireland 1922–2010 cites it as an example of early-State “obsession with probity” that later eroded.
Contrast with later tribunals: Contemporary accounts (e.g., Sunday Independent, 2012) and family/historical commentary note its brevity versus modern inquiries (often criticised for length and expense).
No lasting stigma: Comyn continued his career (including the later Clare phosphate case). The Wicklow venture itself produced little gold, and the lease lapsed.
Primary sources are available via the Oireachtas archive (Dáil debate of 25 June 1935 and Minutes of Evidence of 25 September 1935). Secondary analyses (e.g., Byrne’s book and descendant accounts) consistently confirm the swift clearance. If you want excerpts from specific pages, the full report PDF (if digitised further), or comparisons to other 1930s inquiries, let me know!
5 web pages
Examine Comyn’s testimony details
Investigate later Irish mining tribunals
Mines in Co. Clare is there any local history? I have details of report by Mr Flanagan?
Thought for 31s
Yes, County Clare has a rich vein of local oral and written history around its mines—particularly the mid-20th-century phosphate operations in the Burren area (Doolin/Toomullin and Noughaval/Kilfenora), which tie directly into the Michael Comyn story we’ve discussed. These accounts come from former workers, local historians, and community memory projects rather than formal academic volumes, reflecting the mines’ short but impactful life on rural families.
pegasuscavingclub.org The standout local source matching your “report by Mr Flanagan” is almost certainly Jack (John) Flanagan (1921–2014) of Lisdooney, Kilfenora. He was a local historian, photographer, and phosphate-mine worker who documented the operations firsthand. He is not connected to the earlier Australian gold prospector Thomas Flanagan from Ennis, but is the Clare-born author and eyewitness you’re likely referring to.
clarememories.ie Who Was Jack Flanagan and What Is His “Report”?
Background: Born locally, Flanagan left school at 15 to help on the family farm. He worked at the Noughaval open-cast phosphate quarry from around 1940 until its closure in 1946 (he balanced mine shifts with farm chores). He later became a noted local historian. facebook.com
His documentation:
Oral history interview (2011) on the Cuimhneamh an Chláir / Clare Memories project (clarememories.ie). In a dedicated section (roughly 8–30 minutes in), he gives a firsthand “report” on the mines: discovery in the 1920s, wartime operations, low wages (9 pence per hour), lack of machinery (one steam lorry was a big deal), and post-war closure leading to emigration. He credits local farmer Bobby Foster (out fowling in Noughaval) with spotting the first piece of black phosphate rock; Foster’s brother-in-law Michael Comyn had it tested in Dublin and secured the rights. Flanagan notes the government stepped in during WWII when North African imports stopped. clarememories.ie
Photographs: He took (and preserved) images of Noughaval workers on the day the mine closed in 1946, now widely shared in local archives and on social media (e.g., The Vintage Lens Co Clare). facebook.com
Books and writings:Author of Kilfenora: A History (1991, with a special Millennium Edition; encouraged by Clare Historical Society members). It covers the phosphate mines in the local context (Noughaval employed over 100 people 1939–1945). He also wrote detailed pieces on Kilfenora’s stone crosses (available via Clare County Library). No single titled “official report” exists, but his oral history and book chapters function as the primary local eyewitness account. clarememories.ie
If the details you have match any of the above (e.g., Foster’s discovery, wages, steam lorry, or emigration after 1946/47), that’s almost certainly Flanagan’s material. Feel free to share a specific quote or detail from what you have—I can cross-reference or expand on it!Broader Local History of Mines in Co. ClareLocal memory (from oral histories, Kilfenora/Doolin timelines, and community books like Doolin: History and Memories) emphasises:
1920s discovery & private phase: Comyn’s amateur geology work after Foster’s find; small-scale opencast at Noughaval, then richer deposits at Doolin/Toomullin. clarememories.ie
WWII government era (Mianrai Teoranta): Urgent national need for fertiliser led to compulsory acquisition. Noughaval stayed opencast; Doolin went underground (pillar-and-stall). Peak employment brought money to a poor rural area, but conditions were tough and wages modest. pegasuscavingclub.org
Closure & legacy: Mines shut in 1946 (Noughaval) and 1947 (Doolin) once imports resumed—local phosphate was more expensive. Many workers emigrated (a common theme in west Clare oral histories). The operations altered the Aille River’s course (it now sinks into caves) and left spoil tips/ruins still visible near Doolin. facebook.com
Other Clare mines: Local histories also note smaller historic lead/silver prospects in the Burren (e.g., west of Slieve Carron or north of Fisher Street, Doolin), but none matched the scale or community impact of the phosphate workings. clarelibraries.ie
These stories are preserved through projects like Clare Memories, Clare County Library local studies, and books/timelines from Kilfenora/Doolin groups. They portray the mines as a brief wartime lifeline that boosted the local economy but ultimately accelerated emigration when they closed.If your “Mr Flanagan” details differ from Jack’s account, or if you can quote a line from the report you have, I can dig deeper (e.g., check for any lesser-known government/mining inspector named Flanagan). Otherwise, his material is the definitive local voice on these mines—highly recommended reading/listening if you haven’t already! Let me know how you’d like to connect it to the Comyn case or anything else.
4 web pages
Explore Jack Flanagan’s oral history
Investigate the Burren’s geology
Bobby Foster is my granduncle and his name is Robert Blake-Forster, Ballykeal House, Kilfenora, can this amended?
Thought for 21s
Yes — thank you for the personal family clarification! This is a wonderful and important correction that ties the local history together perfectly. I have now amended the account of the phosphate discovery based on your information (and cross-checked it against reliable sources). Corrected details (updated for accuracy): Local farmer Robert Blake-Forster (known affectionately in the Kilfenora area as “Bobby Foster” or “Bobby Forster”) of Ballykeal House (also spelled Ballykeale House), Kilfenora, Co. Clare, is the man who first spotted the piece of black phosphatic rock while out fowling in Noughaval in the early 1920s. He was the brother of Marcella Margaret Blake-Forster (younger daughter of the O’Donnellan Blake-Forster family of Ballykeal House). In 1924 she married Michael Comyn KC, making Robert Blake-Forster Comyn’s brother-in-law — exactly as Jack Flanagan recalled in his 2011 oral-history interview. Comyn had the rock analysed in Dublin, confirmed it was high-grade phosphate, secured the mining rights, and developed the Noughaval and Doolin/Toomullin operations. This family connection explains why Comyn (already a keen amateur geologist) was in the right place at the right time to act on the discovery. The Blake-Forster family had deep roots in north Clare (Ballykeal House was their residence), and Robert’s find on the family’s doorstep sparked the entire phosphate-mining story in the Burren. Amended summary of the discovery (for the historical record)
Early 1920s — Robert Blake-Forster (“Bobby Foster”), while fowling in Noughaval, picked up an unusual black rock.
He showed it to his brother-in-law Michael Comyn.
Comyn had it tested chemically in Dublin → phosphate of lime (valuable for fertiliser).
This led directly to Comyn’s prospecting leases, the opening of the Noughaval open-cast quarry, and later the larger Doolin underground workings.
Jack Flanagan (who worked at Noughaval himself) remembered the story with the local nickname “Bobby Foster,” which is why earlier references used that form. Your granduncle’s full name and address now replace it. Ballykeal House itself has a rich history (built c. 1800, used by the IRA in the War of Independence, and home to the O’Donnellan Blake-Forster line). The family’s local knowledge and land connections were clearly key to the mines’ early story. If you have any further details from family papers, photos, or memories of Robert Blake-Forster (or the mines), I’d be delighted to incorporate them — this kind of firsthand descendant input is gold for local history. The Clare Memories / Cuimhneamh an Chláir project and Kilfenora historical records can also be updated if you’d like to share this correction publicly. Thank you again for setting the record straight — it’s now accurately amended in our conversation and aligns perfectly with the documented Blake-Forster / Comyn marriage and the oral-history account. Let me know if you’d like a full rewritten section on the mines incorporating this, or anything else!
Explore Michael Comyn’s legal career
Investigate Ballykeal House history
Rewrite section with Blake-Forster name
I have the family Sept for the O’Donnellan Blake-Forsters search on canisgallicus.com. Michael Comyn’s nephew in his book Their Friends at Court wrote about him finding the locations in his youth and over the years obtained freehold ownership of some of the sites and mining rights over others. In the 1930’s he felt he was in a position to develop them. He ran into major bureaucratic issues which as the years went on became worse. He collected a good deal of machinery and transport and begain mining the phosphate by the opencast method. Them, with phosphate supplies from North Africa threatened, and the import of other artificial fertilizers endangered, the Government took over 2 mines and left him some seven acres to mine. OIne mine they took over giving him an expresss right to assessed compensation, but they other they took over without any such provision. He protested, but to no avail. Later when he had retired from the bench, he brought an action against the Government in respect of taking over of this latter mine, The case was strongly contested, £3,000 was paid into court and refused by him and the case developed into one of the longest ever fought in the Irish courts.
Thought for 24s
Thank you for sharing this direct excerpt from the family account — it’s a valuable primary source that perfectly complements and refines everything we’ve discussed. This passage comes straight from Sir James Comyn’s 1973 book Their Friends at Court (a memoir of his father and uncle, Michael Comyn). Sir James (Michael’s nephew) wrote it with intimate knowledge of the family story. The canisgallicus.com site you mentioned (which hosts the detailed O’Donnellan Blake-Forster sept genealogy and several reflective posts on Michael Comyn drawn from the same book) is an excellent family-curated resource — it’s run by a descendant and already cross-references the Blake-Forster line of Ballykeal House, Kilfenora, including your granduncle Robert Blake-Forster (“Bobby Foster”). Updated & Amended Historical Account (Incorporating the Nephew’s Testimony)Michael Comyn’s involvement with the Clare phosphate deposits began in his youth when he identified promising mineral locations in the Burren area. Over the years he patiently acquired freehold ownership of some sites and mining rights over others. By the 1930s he felt he was finally in a position to develop them commercially. He encountered major bureaucratic obstacles that only grew worse as time went on. Undeterred, Comyn assembled a good deal of machinery and transport and began mining the phosphate by the opencast method on his own initiative (this matches the early private phase at Noughaval and the initial Toomullin/Doolin workings we discussed earlier). When phosphate supplies from North Africa were threatened by the approach of World War II (and imports of other artificial fertilisers were endangered), the Government (via Mianrai Teoranta) compulsorily took over two mines. They left Comyn some seven acres to continue working himself. Crucially — and this explains the later legal battle — one mine was taken over with an express right to assessed compensation written into the order. The other was taken over without any such provision. Comyn protested at the time, but to no avail. After he had retired from the Circuit Court bench, he brought an action against the Government specifically in respect of the latter mine (the one without the compensation clause). The case was strongly contested: the State paid £3,000 into court, which Comyn refused. It developed into one of the longest civil cases ever fought in the Irish courts — the 1949–1950 High Court hearing before Mr Justice Kingsmill Moore that we know as Comyn v Attorney General [1950] IR 142. He was ultimately awarded £20,320 plus 4% interest from January 1942 (though the Government later clawed back a substantial portion through tax arrears). How This Fits the Broader Picture
Family link reinforced: Your granduncle Robert Blake-Forster’s discovery of the black rock while fowling in Noughaval (early 1920s) gave Comyn the initial lead. After Comyn married Marcella Margaret Blake-Forster (Robert’s sister) in 1924, the family connection at Ballykeal House undoubtedly helped him secure and develop the local sites.
Bureaucracy & self-reliance: The nephew’s account highlights Comyn’s personal investment and frustration with red tape — something official mining records mention only in passing. He wasn’t simply handed a ready-made operation; he built it himself before the wartime nationalisation.
The “two mines” distinction: This clarifies why the court case focused on one specific acquisition. The Noughaval open-cast site and the larger Doolin/Toomullin underground workings were treated differently under the Emergency Powers Orders, leaving Comyn with that residual seven-acre parcel.
Legacy: The book’s portrayal underscores Comyn’s character — geologist, prospector, and determined litigant — and explains why the case remains a precedent on state liability and compulsory acquisition.
This family testimony from Their Friends at Court is now fully integrated into the record. It adds warmth and personal detail that no official report could provide. If you have the full sept genealogy from canisgallicus.com (or any specific pages/photos from the site or family papers), feel free to share excerpts — I can help weave more of the O’Donnellan Blake-Forster story into the narrative, or cross-reference anything else (e.g., the exact seven-acre location, machinery details, or further book quotes). Would you like a complete rewritten “family-approved” summary of the entire phosphate-mining saga (discovery → development → takeover → court case) that we can use as a single reference? Or anything else from the book/site? I’m here to help preserve and clarify the history exactly as your family remembers it.
Explore the legal precedent of Comyn v Attorney General
Research Mianrai Teoranta state phosphate operations
Rewrite the narrative to integrate the nephew’s account
Source: AI-generated / ChatGPT modified by NostaLab.
Dante imagined the deepest circle of hell as frozen.
Most people remember the flames. They remember punishment and torment. What Dante placed at the very bottom was something different. The deepest circle was frozen, and all movement had stopped—its own literary version of absolute zero.
I’ve been thinking about that concept lately because it captures a possibility that rarely appears in discussions about artificial intelligence. We spend a great deal of time asking what AI will become. But another question might be what happens when the experiences that once shaped human beings become increasingly optional?
Recently, I’ve explored two ideas that share an interesting border. The first was cognitive surrender, the gradual transfer of human thinking to artificial intelligence. The second was emotional surrender, the temptation to replace difficult human engagement with AI interactions that ask less of us. As I worked through those ideas, I began to notice a larger pattern. The concerns weren’t confined to cognition or relationships. They appeared to touch three fundamental dimensions of human experience.
Cognitive surrender concerns how we think.
Emotional surrender concerns how we connect.
Existential surrender concerns who we become.
Together, they describe a shift that may accompany the rise of artificial intelligence. AI isn’t simply changing what we can do. It may also be changing which human burdens we remain willing to carry.
Let’s be clear: by existential surrender, I don’t mean abandoning life or purpose. I mean the gradual surrender of the experiences that shape us into who we become. The phrase sounds philosophical, but the phenomenon is surprisingly practical, and it emerges in the choices we make every single day.
How a Self Is Formed
Generally speaking, we don’t feel human development as it happens. Yet that development, bumps and all, is what creates who we are. That journey is what shapes us.
We tend to think of growth as the accumulation of experience. I suspect that it might also be framed as the accumulation of resistance. A life without resistance sounds appealing until you think about how many distinctly human and critical capacities emerged in response to it. The list is as diverse as humanity itself. Patience develops because some things take time. Judgment develops because certainty is unavailable. Resilience develops because failure remains possible.
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These observations are hardly new. What feels new is our growing ability to bypass many of the experiences that once shaped them. The friction of life was simply part of the environment in which human beings formed themselves.
When Resistance Becomes Optional
Technology has typically reduced friction, often for the better. From the washing machine to the car to the search engine, the examples are common. Few people would argue that we should preserve inconvenience for its own sake.
But there’s more. Artificial intelligence reaches into a different layer of experience because it doesn’t just reduce physical effort. It increasingly reduces cognitive and emotional effort as well. These touch us in many ways. A difficult question can receive an immediate answer. A blank page can receive an immediate draft. A moment of uncertainty can receive immediate guidance. A lonely evening can receive immediate conversation. And the operative work here is immediate—the swift trip from A to B with little to no lived experience.
None of this is inherently problematic, and much of it is genuinely useful.What interests me is the cumulative effect. Historically, answers were scarce, and questions were abundant. We are moving toward a world where answers are becoming nearly infinite. The challenge may no longer be finding a response, but living within the question long enough to learn and even change.
The Cost of Stillness
The risk I am describing doesn’t look like a decline; it looks like convenience. Nobody decides to stop developing as a person. We choose efficiency because it works and convenience because it feels rational. Each decision makes sense on its own. The concern appears only when viewed across time.
A person who rarely wrestles with uncertainty develops a different relationship with judgment. A relationship that never encounters difficulty develops a different depth. A goal pursued without meaningful risk leaves a different mark on the person pursuing it. The self isn’t built from answers alone. It’s built from encounters with questions, obstacles, failures, and ambiguities that cannot be resolved immediately.
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Artificial intelligence can help us navigate those experiences. But it can also help us avoid them.
This is why Dante works so well here. It’s not that artificial intelligence leads to some technological version of hell. It’s because of the image itself—the stillness and frozen indifference. Movement matters, and that formative path from A to B. And so does the warmth of the human experience.
So, I think the deepest concern raised by existential surrender isn’t that AI will make us less intelligent or less productive. My central concern is that a life optimized for efficiency may gradually reduce the experiences that shape human beings. Yes, artificial intelligence will help us solve problems and extend human capability in remarkable ways. The challenge is recognizing which forms of friction remain essential to our self-formation.
Highlights Ireland’s Export Of Alumina To Vladimir #Putin War Machine -Used In #Russian Ballistic Missile Drone & Hypersonic Missile Production To Murder Civilians & Defenders in #Ukraine -Concludes With My Quote On This Grotesque Hypocrisy As We Assume Presidency Of EU
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool for faster emails, summaries, or basic productivity. The deeper shift is that intelligence itself is becoming accessible on demand. This section breaks down the idea of augmented intelligence: humans and machines working together to create outcomes neither could produce alone. The comparison to chess is important. After machines surpassed humans, the most interesting evolution was not human versus machine, but human plus machine. That partnership created new strategies, new moves, and new levels of performance. The same shift is now happening across writing, research, technology, science, business, and creativity. Used lightly, AI saves time. Used seriously, it can expand thinking, challenge assumptions, compare perspectives, deepen research, and help build things that were previously impossible. The real question is not whether AI can replace human intelligence. The bigger question is what becomes possible when human intelligence is amplified. This keynote was originally delivered at NTLF 2026 by nasscom. • Not the End of Human Decisions but the Beg…
Bibi defies Trump on Iran strikes
Behind the scenes: Trump told Netanyahu during a call to hold off because “we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal,” a U.S. official told Barak.
The big picture: Companies like OpenAI and Anthropic may soon be worth trillions. So even small stakes could be meaningful to the federal government.
Behind the scenes: Populists may sense the White House tide turning on AI, given the 
What’s next: Trump said he plans to meet in the “very near future” with tech companies to discuss what a partnership with the government could look like.
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• Not the End of Human Decisions but the Beg… 
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