Affairs of the Nation

Shane Ross

Affairs of the Nation

DEFENCE POLICY AND NEUTRALITY

NO rational explanation was offered as to why Shane Ross’s Independent Alliance caved in to Fine Gael over a free vote on a pro-neutrality motion from Sinn Féin last month.... Read more »
Pope Francis

Affairs of the Nation

PAPAL VISIT: IRISH SCHISM

LIKE Julius Caesar’s tripartite division of Gaul, the Ireland that Pope Francis will encounter in August 2018, when he attends the world conference of families in Dublin, will divide into... Read more »
Robert Pitt

Affairs of the Nation

THE MAN WHO STOOD UP TO DENIS O’BRIEN

THE SOAP OPERA playing out at Independent News and Media (INM) between the group’s chief executive – former Tesco and Lidl suit, Robert Pitt – and the chairman, Leslie Buckley... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Padraig-O-Ceidigh

Affairs of the Nation

PÁDRAIG Ó CÉIDIGH’S CONTRACTS

WITH THE Oireachtas committee on water charges kicking off its deliberations this week, it is set to be a very busy time for airline executive, nursing home operator and home... Read more »
Patrick-mcKee

Affairs of the Nation

McKEE’S POLITICAL ODYSSEY

THE return of Kilkenny defector, Cllr Pat McKee, to a resurgent Fianna Fáil is not guaranteed given his promiscuous party couplings in the last two years. As well, the agenda... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

A RACING UNCERTAINTY

A CASE that would have thrown up some rather interesting details about the sort of compensation paid out to top racehorse trainers and owners by a New Ross feed company... Read more »
Patrick Predergast

Affairs of the Nation

TCD’S ISRAELI CONNECTIONS

IN AN attempt to inject some balance into the Israel-Palestine debate, the fair-minded people at Trinity College’s chaplaincy are organising a “staff peace pilgrimage” to the Holy Land in June... Read more »
Alan Farrell

Affairs of the Nation

A LA CARTE DÁIL PRIVILEGE

DENIS O’BRIEN must be horrified at the behaviour of his employees at the Irish and Sunday Independent in their pursuit of Gerry Adams over the IRA’s killing of prison officer,... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

DAVE BREEN’S SUNSHINE

INTERESTING TO see a company called Solar Secure Investments Ltd falling foul of the Revenue earlier this month when it was convicted for failing to lodge Corporation Tax returns and... Read more »
29/5/2016 Launch of Composing the Island. Pictured are, from left, Simon Taylor CEO of the National Concert Hall, Moya Doherty Chair of the RTE Board and John Horgan Chairman of Bord na Mona in front of the National Concert Hall at the launch of Composing the Island: A century of music in Ireland 1916-2016 taking place from September 7-25, with over 29 concerts being presented of orchestral, choral, instrumental, song and chamber music by Irish composers written between 1916 and 2016. www.nch.ie Photograph: Mark Stedman / Photocall Ireland

Affairs of the Nation

The Hot Air Brigade

“The rethinking of what employment might mean in a 21st Century economy dominated by artificial intelligence…” RTÉ chair Moya Doherty with a new take on redundancies, Irish Times “Read More:... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Denis Naughten

Pillars of Society

Denis Naughten

Once regarded as a potential leader of Fine Gael, then expelled from the party five years ago, Denis Naughten has managed to claw his... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Conor McGregor

The Young Bloods

Conor McGregor

After conquering the world in the ring and achieving his dream of becoming a dual world champion, 2016 was the year that Conor McGregor... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Declan-Kelly

Fit to Print?

DECLAN KELLY’S ENEMIES

SUNDAY INDEPENDENT hack, Maeve Sheehan did quite a hatchet job recently on transatlantic PR supremo, Declan Kelly, brother of Labour TD, Alan Kelly. Sheehan described Kelly’s “naked ambition” (an anonymous... Read more »
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Fit to Print?

GAA’S SOUR NOTE

GAA president Aogán Ó Fearghaíl did not shoot his mouth off without any PR preparation when advocating that the organisation abandon the Irish flag and national anthem. Ó Fearghaíl ‘s... Read more »
Sarah McInerney

Fit to Print?

NEWSTALK / IRISH TIMES TRUCE?

WILL Irish Times editor Paul O’Neill throw his editorial colleague Fintan O’Toole under a bus in order to mollify Communicorp chairperson Lucy Gaffney’s hardline boycott of the newspaper and avert... Read more »

Last Refuge

Jim O'Callaghan

Last Refuge

O’CALLAGHAN’S LEGAL BRAIN

FIANNA FÁIL’S increased poll ratings may or may not have something to do with the party’s new, more responsible (rightward) turn on various issues. But Micheál Martin appears to be... Read more »
Regina Doherty

Last Refuge

REGINA’S SOFT SPOT

IS government chief whip, Regina Doherty, a secret admirer of Fidel Castro? Did the teenage Regina have a Che Guevara poster in her bedroom? Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were... Read more »
Catherine-Byrne

Last Refuge

CATHERINE BYRNE’S MEMBERS REVOLT

CATHERINE BYRNE is a loyal, supine supporter of Enda Kenny which qualities earned her the position as minister of state for communities and drugs. But neither Fine Gael HQ nor... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Curious case of the Invisible Female Driver A BALLYDEHOB man was fined €500 for failing to give details of an ‘invisible female driver’ who crashed his car. Eamonn Smith of... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Mary Robinson

Fowl Emissions

TCD GOES WITH THE FLOW

WHEN a student society at Trinity College declared last month it was “standing in solidarity” with Native American protestors blocking an oil pipeline in North Dakota, it may have sounded... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Arlene Foster

Bird's Eye View

ARLENE SPLASHES THE (C)ASH

THEY call it the ‘cash for ash fiasco’ or as one assembly member put it, ‘a squander made in Stormont’. It’s going to cost the north €1.4 billion over the... Read more »
Michael McGrath(right)

Bird's Eye View

BERTIE’S COME BACK DEAD IN THE WATER

THE interminable factionalising of Bertie’s Good Old Boys (BeGOBs) in trying to resurrect the glory days were given the kiss of death by his chief lieutenant, Chris Wall last week.... Read more »

High Society

High Society

John Osborne

High Society

JOHN OSBORNE’S JOB

AFTER ALL the aggro at Horse Racing Ireland over the reappointment of Brian Kavanagh as chief executive for a third stint (see The Phoenix... Read more »

High Society

Sarah Gill

High Society

“PERFECT 10” SARAH GILL

CONGRATULATIONS TO Sarah Gill, proprietor of the Seagreen fashion boutique in Monkstown, south County Dublin, who has developed an uncanny knack for attracting glowing... Read more »

High Society

Oliver-Peyton

High Society

OLIVER PEYTON’S HUMBLE PIE

SURPRISING TO see such silence this side of the Irish Sea on the recent trials and tribulations of London restaurateur, TV personality and high society fixture, Oliver Peyton. Irishman Peyton... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes

PUNTING PADraig PEARSE

FANS OF Goldhawk will not have been too surprised by the failure of the state to bid for the Padraig Pearse surrender letter auctioned by Adam’s earlier this month. It... Read more »
Caroline Downey

Behind the Scenes

DOWNEY STEPS DOWN

GOOD TO see Caroline Downey, wife of promoter extraordinaire Denis Desmond and co-owner of MCD, taking the opportunity to put in a good word for singer Hozier last month. It... Read more »
Neil Murray and Graham McLaren

Behind the Scenes

IN AND OUT AT THE ABBEY

THE NEW directors of the Abbey Theatre, Neil Murray and Graham McLaren, have been waiting in the wings for more than a year since their appointments were revealed in July... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Gordon Elliott

Sport of Kings

GORDON ELLIOTT Vs WILLIE MULLINS

WITH HALF the jumps season already completed, ‘trainer title’ chat has begun to heat up with increasing numbers convinced this is Gordon Elliott’s championship to lose. However, the self-made Meath... Read more »

Sport of Kings

stud farm blues

THE YEOMANSTOWN Stud family team of Gay, Annette and their son, David O’Callaghan, have each pleaded guilty to possessing unauthorised animal remedies at their Naas stud, which is home to... Read more »
John Mcstay pic

Sport of Kings

JOHN MCSTAY’S STUD FEES

THERE IS an interesting figure buried in the 2015 accounts that have just been filed by the Irish National Stud (INS). In a note, it is revealed that the INS... Read more »
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Sport of Kings

TOM TAAFFE’S COMEBACK

FORTUNES RISE and fall all the time and despite all the despondency coming from trainers’ camps these days, they can be a pretty resilient bunch. Take Tom Taaffe for example... Read more »

Reviews

Des-Bishop-This-Is-Ireland

Reviews

THIS IS IRELAND – RTÉ2

FRONTED BY stand-up comic Des Bishop, This Is Ireland has been much hyped by RTÉ as the country’s answer to The Daily Show, with the implicit suggestion that such a... Read more »
Karen-McCartney-and-Donal-Gallery

Reviews

THE HEIRESS – GATE THEATRE

HISTORICAL PERIOD dramas sport a few familiar storylines. One classic narrative features a moneyed woman in a difficult romantic situation, or a dishonest lover, who turns the tables to her... Read more »
Crime-of-Passion

Books

CRIME OF PASSION – JOHN BOORMAN (LIBERTIES PRESS)

JOHN BOORMAN’S debut novel at the age of 83 is (unsurprisingly) set in the world of movie-making. The Irish-based director of Deliverance and The General apparently chose the novel form... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Moneybags

Market cools as INM soap opera turns ugly

THERE IS a certain logic to INM diversifying into digital media by acquiring the Newstalk radio station from the Communicorp Group. Both are mid-market... Read more »

Moneybags

Tom O'Mahony

Moneybags

Opaque figures make it hard for Origin investors

LAST YEAR was a challenging one for Tom O’Mahony’s Origin Enterprises group. It wasn’t just that trading profits of €74m fell back to less... Read more »

Brief Cases

Eamon de Valera

Brief Cases

Winding up De Valera’s communications company

A CREDITORS meeting took place earlier this week to appoint a liquidator to M&C Communications Ltd, the long-suffering medical communications company owned by Irish Press PLC, where Eamon de Valera... Read more »
Judge-David-Keane

Brief Cases

George Beggan goes on the counter

THERE was an interesting judgment in the High Court last month relating to Meath developer and farmer George Beggan, against whom Danske Bank is seeking judgment for a hefty €4.3m.... Read more »
Barry Monaghan

Brief Cases

Developer Monaghan falls foul of vulture fund

SPARE a thought for developers Barry Monaghan and Michael Doyle whose company Monaco Properties Ltd has just had a receiver appointed to it by US vulture fund Cerberus. Tom O’Brien... Read more »

Brief Cases

Brendan Whoriskey’s tax troubles

SPARE a thought for Donegal publican Brendan Whoriskey who just can’t catch a break from the taxman. Whoriskey owns and operates the Traveller’s Rest pub in Cashelard near Ballyshannon and... Read more »
David Downes

Brief Cases

Early Christmas present for tax defaulters

GOLDHAWK spotted a couple of interesting professionals on the Revenue’s latest list of tax defaulters, some of who have had their share of headaches in recent years. Michael Curneen, a... Read more »
iad2017

Brief Cases

A Date for Your Diary

IT’S FAIR to say that Goldhawk’s investigations would be a lot more difficult if it wasn’t for the indispensible Institute of Public Administration (IPA) diary. The IPA’s Ireland – A... Read more »
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Brief Cases

Millennium Park saga winds down

AN END is finally in sight for the long-running saga of the Naas Millennium Business Park, after the pair of companies at the centre of the 2006 deal moved to... Read more »