Affairs of the Nation

Billy Walsh

Affairs of the Nation

BILLY WALSH’S KNOCKOUT

WHILE media coverage of the move to the US of boxing coach Billy Walsh has been unanimously critical of the handling of the affair by the Joe Christle-chaired Irish Amateur... Read more »
Simon Coveney

Affairs of the Nation

COVENEY’S MILITARY SPENDING PLANS

DEFENCE minister Simon Coveney gave little away in answer to a parliament question about the protection of Irish sovereign airspace from foreign aircraft put by Fianna Fáil defence spokesperson Seán... Read more »
Hugh Lewis

Affairs of the Nation

HUGH LEWIS’S ALLEGATIONS

THERE WERE frantic scenes at Dún Laoghaire Rathdown (DLR) Council last month, when a heated debate on alterations to the Draft Development Plan featured controversial allegations from People Before Profit... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Brenda Power

Affairs of the Nation

BRENDA POWER FOR DPP AGAIN?

SUNDAY TIMES columnist Brenda Power distinguished herself last month with a searching analysis of Travellers in the aftermath of the Carrickmines fire tragedy that saw ten Travellers, including five children,... Read more »
David Davies

Affairs of the Nation

DAVID DAVIES’ GEORGIAN CREDENTIALS

GOLDHAWK understands that the next president of the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) is set to be the super wealthy David Davies, a Welsh moneybags who is well known in cultural... Read more »
John Cooke

Affairs of the Nation

JUDICIOUS BUSINESS INTERESTS

ONE of the things that the eagerly awaited Judicial Council – which has been long-fingered by successive governments – may wish to consider is a register of business interests of... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

MAHON TRIBUNAL’S TANGLED WEB

GOOD to see the media catching up with developments in the Mahon Tribunal (see The Phoenix 23/10/15 and passim), but it’s high time environment minister Alan Kelly demanded straight answers... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Karl Brophy

Pillars of Society

Karl Brophy

IMPENDING danger or conflict is one meaning of the phrase ‘red flag’ and the head of Red Flag Consulting, Karl Brophy, is certainly no... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Greg Ryan

The Young Bloods

Young Bloods – Greg Ryan

LIMERICK businessman Greg Ryan (31) pulled quite a stunt last month when he organised a topless photo shoot on Dublin’s Harcourt Street, featuring contestants... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Colum Kenny

Fit to Print?

PROF KENNY AND SINDO

IS it really possible that the Sunday Independent can dumb down under the post Anne Harris editorial regime? Apparently so, judging by the despairing exit from the Sindo of Professor... Read more »
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Fit to Print?

Free and Independent Press?

HOW heartening to see the Sunday Independent is prepared to take on those bullying corporate moguls who abuse their untrammelled wealth and power to stifle a free media by use... Read more »
Claire Brock

Fit to Print?

UTV HACKS’ GRIM FUTURE

THE galaxy of broadcasting stars and pretty faces lined up by UTV Ireland, which faces likely extinction when ITV completes the purchase of UTV north and south, will be recalling... Read more »

Last Refuge

Alan Kelly

Last Refuge

AK47 OUTGUNNED BY ALL SIDES

ENVIRONMENT minister Alan ‘AK47’ Kelly is facing not only vastly superior fire power from the much bigger guns on Fine Gael finance minister Michael Noonan’s side, but also appears to... Read more »
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Last Refuge

Keaveney Feeling Insecure?

FIANNA FÁIL TD Colm Keaveney is facing security issues on more than one front. While he has requested that the Dáil authorities investigate the suspected hacking of his emails, he... Read more »
Clare Daly

Last Refuge

THE LEFT AND SINN FÉIN

THE hysterical media reaction to Sinn Fein’s electoral transfer proposal ignores several factors, the chief one being that a natural pattern of transfers between Sinn Fein and other Left groups... Read more »
Dara Murphy

Last Refuge

BLUESHIRT SPLIT IN CORK

ENDA KENNY has gone out of his way to support his beleaguered junior minister for Europe, Dara Murphy, in Cork, as well as Europe but he is risking the sole... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

bog cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

HAD BOTTLE OF VODKA DOWN PANTS A THURLES man who was found with a “large bottle of vodka down his pants” was fined E350 at Thurles District Court for verbally... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Arlene Foster

Bird's Eye View

ROBINSON FOR HEAVE-HO?

SOURCES in both Sinn Féin and the DUP predict a deal next week on welfare reform, the contentious matter which has blocked last December’s Stormont House Agreement since March. Both... Read more »

Clerical Errors

Mary McAleese

Clerical Errors

McALEESE Vs OLD BOYS’ CLUB

THE Church of Rome is constituted under the rule of a monarchical papacy and prides itself on not being democratic. However, in the more relaxed reign of Pope Francis, there... Read more »

Beyond the Pale

Beyond the Pale

BERNARD O’BYRNE’S BASKETBALL BUST-UP

BASKETBALL IRELAND, the governing body for basketball in Ireland, is currently involved in a bitter dispute with a number of coaches and officials in the north east, who were members... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

He is now a member of the establishment. It may be worse than that. He might now be a national treasure. Donald Clarke on Colm Tóibín, Irish Times (submitted by... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Louise Kennedy

High Society

ACCOUNTING FOR LOUISE KENNEDY

FASHION designer Louise Kennedy must have been delighted with the puff piece in the Sunday Business Post last month, where she outlined her plans... Read more »

High Society

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High Society

JOHN FARRINGTON’S SATISFACTION

CONGRATULATIONS to Drury Street antique jeweller John Farrington, who did rather well out of the sale of contents of his Capard House pile. He... Read more »

High Society

Seamus Ross Jr

High Society

SEAMUS ROSS JR SELLS UP AGAIN

THERE WAS plenty of coverage of the impressive Georgian house on Wellington Place in the heart of Dublin 4 which came on the market, again, last month, with a price... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Fiach Mac Conghail

Behind the Scenes

FIACH Mac CONGHAIL’S CURTAIN CALL

THE NATIONAL Theatre unintentionally kicked off a storm in an online teacup last week with the announcement of its 2016 programme, when writers and actors raged against director Fiach Mac... Read more »
David Davies

Behind the Scenes

NO IRISH NEED APPLY

INTERESTING to see Michael Dervan in The Irish Times querying the lack of Irish involvement in the 2015 Wexford Festival Opera, which concludes this week. Of course, the agency that... Read more »
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Behind the Scenes

STILL COUNTING CROWES

IT IS exactly a year since James Hickey’s Irish Film Board (IFB) announced its intention to put together a brave new five-year ‘Strategic Plan’ for its future (see The Phoenix... Read more »
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Behind the Scenes

Humphreys Picks Modern Chair

MINISTER for the Arts Heather Humphreys has turned to experienced troubleshooter David Harvey to chair the new board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma). Her move marks something... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Dermot Weld

Sport of Kings

DERMOT WELD’S NEW NEIGHBOURS

RACEHORSE trainer and Curragh resident Dermot Weld, whose Rosewell House yard borders the proposed €55m redevelopment of the Pádraig McManus-managed Curragh racecourse, is not too happy with the arrival of... Read more »
John Moloney

Sport of Kings

JOE KEELING’S MEDIA MOVE

THE ASSOCIATION Of Irish Racecourses (AIR) and Galway racecourse supremo John Moloney have lost the battle to retain control of the all-important media rights committee of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI).... Read more »
Joseph O’Brien

Sport of Kings

JOSEPH O’BRIEN’S TWEETS

IN A BID to “clear things up a bit” amid the speculation surrounding his future plans, ex-Champion Jockey, Joseph O’Brien, recently released a confusing statement on Twitter that ruled everything... Read more »
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Sport of Kings

GETTING TO THE POINT

THERE WAS very little cheer for the Bowler Hats in Simon Coveney’s new Horse Racing Ireland Act 2015, but one battle they did manage to win was the fight to... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Fiona Muldoon

Moneybags

Muldoon’s new boom boosts outlook for FBD

FIONA MULDOON has had a significant impact at FBD Insurance. The former Central Bank exec was only appointed finance director of FBD in January... Read more »

Moneybags

Eimear Mulhern

Moneybags

Goffs proving itself a thoroughbred

THE LATE Charlie Haughey’s only daughter, Eimear Mulhern, has tended to keep a relatively low profile but she put her head above the parapet... Read more »

Brief Cases

Alan Hanly

Brief Cases

Fresh Legal Woes For Alan Hanly

NAMA developer Alan Hanly of the Hanly Group has fresh legal woes to contend with and is currently being sued by various owners of cottages on Kilronan estate in Co... Read more »
Brian Goff

Brief Cases

Brian Goff’s Court Date

VETERAN Dublin restaurateur Brian Goff – one of the founders of the Insomnia coffee chain – is one busy man and is currently involved in a number of ventures, including... Read more »
Rick Larkin

Brief Cases

Rick Larkin And The Taxman

SOME bad news for highflying developer Rick Larkin. His family owned company, Vieira Ltd, which trades as Twinlite, has just come out on the losing side of a Supreme Court... Read more »
David Cullen

Brief Cases

Mary Cullen On The Warpath

FANS of Goldhawk will recall that earlier this year, Dublin publican and hotelier David Cullen – who was on the receiving end of a whopping €29m judgment by Nama in... Read more »
Arnold Fanning

Brief Cases

Arnold Fanning’s Bank Blues

BIRR-BASED businessman Arnold Fanning, the principal in Midland Web Printing Ltd (MWP) – which came close to buying Buy and Sell last year, but was beaten by Denis O’Brien’s Demerica... Read more »
Greg Kavanagh

Brief Cases

‘Ronaldo’ Kavanagh’s Own Goal

DEVELOPER Greg Kavanagh of New Generation Homes has been making plenty of waves in the business pages in recent months and is currently involved in a vast array of projects... Read more »