Affairs of the Nation

Lucy Gaffney

Affairs of the Nation

LUCY GAFFNEY TO HEAD RTÉ?

COULD it possibly be that the RTÉ board will hire Lucy Gaffney, right hand woman in Denis O’Brien’s media empire, as director general of the national broadcaster? And would communications... Read more »
Denis O’Brien

Affairs of the Nation

APOLOGISING TO DENIS O’BRIEN

DENIS O’BRIEN is not known for his sense of humour, especially when it comes to the media, so comparing him to Adolf Hitler was never a wise move by The... Read more »
Jarlath Munnelly

Affairs of the Nation

FUNDING THE MARY ROBINSON CENTRE

MORE ON that Mary Robinson Centre (MRC), the multi-million euro project proposed for Robbo’s family home in Ballina. The question of exactly how the Mayo County Council intends to pay... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Eddie Sheehy

Affairs of the Nation

EDDIE SHEEHY’S LEGACY

WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL (WCC) is a much duller place in the absence of its former county manager, the combative Eddie Sheehy, whose relations with various county councillors were often fractious... Read more »
Conor Killeen

Affairs of the Nation

CONOR KILLEEN’S SPORTS STRATEGY

INTERESTING to see financier and investor Conor Killeen of Key Capital, who took control of the Sunday Business Post in 2014, now playing in another part of the media pitch,... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

BIRMINGHAM BOMBS: 41 YEARS ON

THE tardiness of West Midlands Police in investigating the true identities of those responsible for the 1974 Birmingham bombs has been underlined by their leisurely pace in securing an interview... Read more »
Don McManus

Affairs of the Nation

DON McMANUS V JOE DUFFY

SOME HEATED comments on RTÉ’s Liveline programme in September last have resulted in a suit for defamation being lodged by Dún Laoghaire businessman Don McManus. The performance of a relatively... Read more »
ray-bates

Affairs of the Nation

RTÉ CLIMATE DENIERS

IS RTÉ easy prey for the farming lobby? One might expect that the largely liberal programmers in the national broadcaster would be enthusiastic about global efforts to combat climate change,... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

NEW FG MINISTERS

SPECULATION about the next Fine Gael cabinet was far more intense among ard fheis delegates last weekend than curiosity about which Independent TDs would join Michael Lowry in supporting the... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

DAVID BEGG BEGGARS BELIEF

THE multiple leaks from the banking inquiry last week came at rather a bad time for David Begg and his patron, Tánaiste Joan Burton, following the row over her crony... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

LOUIS WALSH’S APARTMENTS

FANS of Goldhawk will already be familiar with the adventures of Alan Hanly, whose family has an interest in the luxury hotel resort, Kilronan Castle, and its surrounding estate. Hanly... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Justice Peter Kelly

Pillars of Society

Peter Kelly

THE recently appointed President of the High Court, Justice Peter Kelly (64), is the antithesis of the modern Irish judge. A devout Catholic, devoid... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Jennifer Cuffe

The Young Bloods

Jennifer Cuffe

FIANNA FÁIL’S Jennifer Cuffe is a true blue south Dublin woman who, having initially sought a place on the FF general election ticket in... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Lise Hand

Fit to Print?

GENDER QUOTA AT INM

YET another prominent and long-standing journalist at the Irish Independent has fallen foul of the red blooded, macho culture at Independent News & Media (INM) and management now fears that... Read more »
Tom McHugh

Fit to Print?

TOM McHUGH’S PRIVACY

LAST month’s RTÉ programme, Standards in Public Office, resulted in certain councillors threatening to sue the pants off the station, but to date there has been no sign of legal... Read more »
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Fit to Print?

Sunday Times Rebel

SUNDAY Times journalist Justine McCarthy appears to have a mischievous streak in her and her recent column attacking the commentariat for their “communal self-abased apology” to Mother England for the... Read more »

Last Refuge

Mary Hanafin

Last Refuge

HANAFIN’S FAUSTIAN PACT

MARY HANAFIN’S electoral strategy in Dún Laoghaire is converging with that of Fine Gael nationally as she delivers daily two-finger gestures to her party leader, Micheál Martin. And the Irish... Read more »
Lorraine Clifford-Lee

Last Refuge

Gender Fodder

FEMINISTS will hardly be impressed at the remarkable appetite that Enda Kenny and Micheál Martin are exhibiting for candidate gender quotas in recent, high-profile photo opportunities. Kenny’s handlers planted Senator... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

bog cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

FOR TUK’S SAKE ALL HELL broke loose when two men returned from a spin in a tuk-tuk tricycle taxi to find their women partners in a row with some young... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Martin McGuinness

Bird's Eye View

BATTLE OF THE BOGSIDE

ON the face of it, Martin McGuinness returning to Derry from Mid-Ulster to stand in May’s assembly elections is throwing the gauntlet down to the SDLP’s inexperienced new leader, Colum... Read more »

Foreign Frolics

Donald Trump

Foreign Frolics

TRUMP AND PALIN by ROBERT FANTINA

WITH a mere ten months to go before some small percentage of eligible United States voters heads to the polls for their quadrennial exercise in futility, none other than Sarah... Read more »

Beyond the Pale

Beyond the Pale

CHARITY WORKER’S ‘BAD ODOUR’

SOCIAL MEDIA giant Facebook has become embroiled in an ugly row over alleged nasty odours at a dump in Wicklow and is now being sued in the High Court as... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

David Bowie

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade – David Bowie Special

At the traffic lights by Blackrock, in a giant, red, fleece-lined coat and huge fur trapper hat, I started crying… As with Diana, we are all crying for ourselves. Brendan... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Tynte Park

High Society

TYNTE PARK’S WINNERS AND LOSERS

INTERESTING to see the impressive Georgian pile, Tynte Park on 145 acres in Co Wicklow, coming back on the market with an asking price... Read more »

High Society

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High Society

DEREK O’LEARY’S ‘SYLVAN GEM’

HAPLESS property developer Derek O’Leary must have been delighted with the puff piece in the Sunday Business Post last weekend extolling the virtues of... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

NO DRAMA FOR IRISH TIMES AWARDS

SPARE A THOUGHT for the theatre industry luvvies who, just over a month from now, will squeeze into their fancy frocks and file into the National Concert Hall for the... Read more »
Beatrice Tollman

Behind the Scenes

THE TOLLMANS’ TAX BILL

HAVING acquired Ashford Castle on 350 acres in Co Mayo back in 2013 for a handy looking €20m, South African hotelier Beatrice Tollman and her hubby Stanley have invested a... Read more »
Sally Hawkins

Behind the Scenes

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO…

IN ANTICIPATION of the Irish run at the Oscars on February 28, there has been much editorial hot air expended on the case for giving James Hickey’s Irish Film Board... Read more »
Ruth McKenzie

Behind the Scenes

OPEN AND CLOSED AT THE ARTS COUNCIL

WITH BUCKETLOADS of cash being dished out to various artistic and cultural projects under the 1916 centenary umbrella – Culture Ireland is the latest to announce a round of funding... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Ruby Walsh

Sport of Kings

RUBY WALSH WANTS THE MONEY

WITHIN the tight circle of Irish Horse Racing, the Walsh family are not known for their meek personality. The adjective ‘outspoken’ tends to be bandied about in any descriptions of... Read more »
Hugo Palmer

Sport of Kings

HUGO PALMER’S MUSCLE PROBLEM

EARLIER THIS month at Bowler Hat HQ, Turf Club chief executive Denis Egan had the red carpet, cucumber sandwiches and Ferrero Rocher out for the visit of British aristocracy to... Read more »
John Malone

Sport of Kings

JOHN MALONE’S EXPANSION

CASTLEMARTIN STUD – the 750-acre spread formerly owned by Tony O’Reilly, which was controversially disposed of by AIB bank to land loving American billionaire John Malone for U28 million –... Read more »
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Sport of Kings

GROUP 1 JOB AT THE CURRAGH

NO LESS THAN 19 runners have declared in the race to win the lucrative prize of first place in the state sponsored ‘Irish Racing Gravy Train Stakes’. Applications have closed... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Colm O’Nualláin

Moneybags

I-res Reit benefits from Nama’s strategy

THE RECENT sale by Nama of 442 apartments in Tallaght for €83m to the Irish Residential Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (I-res Reit) is... Read more »

Moneybags

Pat McCann

Moneybags

Checking out of Dalata Hotels?

PAT MCCANN got off to a bad start in Dalata Hotel Group from the time he established it in 2007 up to 2013, losing... Read more »

Brief Cases

Greg Kavanagh

Brief Cases

Blackrock Planning Row

NEPTUNE HOUSE, a listed building in Blackrock, Co Dublin, is steeped in history and now looks set to be renovated and converted into an apartment and housing development. The house... Read more »
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Brief Cases

Donal Spring’s Fees

SOLICITOR and former international rugby player Donal Spring – brother of former Labour party leader, Dick Spring – is set to tackle the trade union, Unite, which is being sued... Read more »

Brief Cases

US legal proceedings involving Nama and low-profile developer John McCann – who was landed with a €114m judgment by the agency in 2013 – are heating up. The agency had... Read more »
frank-otoole

Brief Cases

Planning Corruption In Wicklow

THERE was good news earlier this week for former Wicklow town clerk, Frank O’Toole, who avoided a trip to the slammer when he was given an 18-month suspended jail sentence,... Read more »
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Brief Cases

Fresh Legal Woes For John O’Donnell

INDEPENDENT councillor from Donegal John O’Donnell is up to his neck in legal problems and featured in last month’s programme from RTÉ’s Investigations Unit, Standards in Public Office. As Goldhawk... Read more »
Jay Bourke

Brief Cases

Jay Bourke’s Good News

FINALLY some good news for Goldhawk’s old friend, Jay Bourke, the Dublin businessman who has been involved in all manner of legal disputes in recent years (see The Phoenix 28/3/14).... Read more »
Fergus Appelbe

Brief Cases

Nama Sues Solicitor’s Wife

THINGS aren’t getting any easier for the Appelbe family of Bandon, Co Cork, which is headed by the under-fire solicitor and property developer, Fergus Appelbe. The latest misfortune to bedevil... Read more »
Vogue Williams

Brief Cases

Ed O’Flaherty’s Bad Publicity

DUBLIN businessman and dentist Ed O’Flaherty of Seapoint Clinic Ltd (SCL) knows a thing or two about drumming up publicity for his clinic, with the likes of Rosanna Davison, Georgia... Read more »

Brief Cases

Familiar names on tax defaulters list

GOLDHAWK spotted a couple of old acquaintances on the Revenue’s latest list of tax defaulters. Hapless barrister-turned-property developer Michael Stimpson made the list published earlier this week after being hit... Read more »