Baltimore, Ireland for some reason prides itself on having the same name as Baltimore, USA. There's a plaque in Baltimore's main (only?) pub that goes on and on about the link between the two places. Of course Baltimore, Ireland has a population in the three digits. The pub there is great, and has a couple of small rooms off the main pub where groups can enjoy time together. I sang "Fairytale of New York" on the evening of January 1, 2000 there with a bunch of people from Dublin. Also, the clam chowder there is incredible, probably because you can basically step outside the bar, walk 30 steps, stick your hand into the water, and pull up clams.

I stole a pint glass from that pub, but felt bad about it and went back and gave the barkeep five punt. I still have the glass, which features the name of the pub, but I can't remember what it is =).

Baltimore (full name Baltimore Technologies) is the name of a Dublin, Ireland-based technology company specialising in 'e-security' solutions. Listed on the NASDAQ (BALT) and London Stock Exchange (BLM), in 1999 it raised $170m cash. The next year saw a series of acquisitions, and involvment in popular security applications such as MIMEsweeper. Customers included Citibank, Intel, Mastercard, and VISA International.

Once listed in the FTSE-100 index of top-performing shares in London, Baltimore's share price has plummeted from a high of more than £10 to around 17p in mid-2001. The recent resignation of its CEO and talks of a takeover have ensured that Baltimore has remained in the media spotlight recently.

A song by Randy Newman titled Baltimore off his Little Criminals album. Widely criticized but it strikes a nerve. Since 1970, over 300,000 people have followed Randy's advice and left Baltimore. Mayor Martin O'Malley has his work cut out for him. I wish him luck.

Beat-up little seagull
On a marble stair
Tryin' to find the ocean
Lookin' everywhere

Hard times in the city
In a hard town by the sea
Ain't nowhere to run to
There ain't nothin' here for free

Hooker on the corner
Waitin' for a train
Drunk lyin' on the sidewalk
Sleepin' in the rain

And they hide their faces
And they hide their eyes
'Cause the city's dyin'
And they don't know why

Oh Baltimore
Man it's hard just to live
Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live, just to live

Get my sister Sandy
And my little brother Ray
Buy a big old wagon
To haul us all away

Live out in the country
Where the mountain's high
Never comin' back here
'Til the day I die

Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live
Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live, just to live

A village in County Cork, Ireland, near Cape Clear. This is just about as far southwest as you can go in Ireland and not fall into the Atlantic Ocean.

It is unclear how George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, came to take the name of this tiny, remote place as part of his title. There is really no evidence to associate any Calvert with Cork; Calvert lands in Ireland were in Counties Longford and Wexford. Since Calvert was given the title in 1625 when he resigned from the Privy Council in protest of anti-Catholic legislation being considered by Parliament, I once thought that this was a joke on his part, or at his expense. However, now, it appears that he derived his title from the name of his estate near Cloonageeher in County Longford. So, it may be that Charm City and the tiny fishing village in County Cork have the same name entirely by coincidence.

A remnant of my writeup here, now moved to Baltimore, Maryland.

Update, 1/27/2003: ReiToei says "Baltimore is made up from three words, baile, tigh, mor, meaning town, house, big, or 'Town of the Big House'". But I've also heard theories that the first syllable comes from Baal meaning a place of idol-worshipers.