Free Republic

Thousands of euro of Irish taxpayers’ money has been spent building a wooden ‘temple’ that will be ceremonially burnt to the ground at a hippy festival in America next month. As the nation faces yet another austerity budget, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal that €9,000 has been given towards building the Temple Of Transition – a giant timber structure that will be torched at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert next month.

For the first time in the event's 25-year history, tickets to Burning Man have sold out. With more than a month left to go before the gates to Black Rock City open at midnight on Aug. 28, burners have already started a mad scramble for spare tickets through various message boards and online networks.