Affairs of the Nation

Affairs of the Nation

FINE GAEL: THE DRINKS PARTY

THE recent appointment of former TD and FG health spokesperson Dr Liam Twomey as chief medical officer of the laughably entitled Drinkaware, is a sign that the alcohol industry is... Read more »
Richard-Grogan

Affairs of the Nation

No Gong for Grogan

CONGRATULATIONS to the likes of former Chief Justice Ronan Keane (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Ronan Daly Jermyn (Law Firm of the Year) who picked up gongs from Miriam O’Callaghan at... Read more »
Carmel and Leslie Buckley

Affairs of the Nation

LESLIE BUCKLEY’S ‘PERVERSE’ CASE

THE CHAIRMAN of Independent News and Media has been in the news recently over assorted controversies in the Denis O’Brien controlled media company but he is also keeping a close... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Affairs of the Nation

HORSING ABOUT WITH JIM FERRY

DONEGAL waste operator Jim Ferry was treated to a full page in The Irish Times last weekend after his latest conviction for illegal dumping. But Jimbo is a man of... Read more »
Pope Francis

Affairs of the Nation

PAPAL NUNCIO’S CÉAD MÍLE FÁILTE

IRELAND’S new papal nuncio, the well travelled and multi-linguist Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, has been papal envoy to the Dominican Republic and apostolic delegate in Puerto Rico. Thus, his appointment... Read more »
Harry Crosbie

Affairs of the Nation

‘Rat-like’ Cunning

NO SURPRISE to see Harry Crosbie getting an easy ride in his fanzine, the Sindo, earlier this month. Previously, when the gloves came off in 2014 in his row with... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

LAY LITIGANT WALSH STILL AT LARGE

LAY litigant David Walsh is still enjoying his freedom despite having been sent to jail for criminal contempt, twice, for insisting on his right to defend his sister in Waterford... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

WHO FEARS TO SPEAK

WHERE is the Oireachtas Decade of Centenaries Committee? It automatically dissolved with the advent of the new Dáil and government over a year ago but no new committee – set... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

GLEN’S OTHER ISSUES

THE goings-on in Glen (Gay and Lesbian Equality Network) hardly deserved the Sunday Business Post’s front-page headline, “Future of gay rights charity in doubt”, given the absence so far of... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

DECCO’S NEW MAN

JIM MCGRATH, special adviser to Labour Party rottweiler Alan Kelly, has moved on to pastures new. McGrath’s new employer turns out to be another Kelly – Declan, brudder of AK47... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Pillars of Society

Kate O’Connell

IS Kate O’Connell a transient backbench TD whose election in Dublin Bay South (DBS) owed more to various forces intent on burying the troublesome... Read more »

The Young Bloods

The Young Bloods

Steven O’Riordan

IN A very public fashion, Social Democrat Steven O’Riordan (33) was put back in his box at a demonstration recently in Dublin. The professional... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Fit to Print?

IVORY TOWER WHISTLEBLOWERS

“THINKBigAtUL for 2017” was the call from UL Links, the University of Limerick’s glossy full-colour 64-page magazine inserted in The Irish Times recently at considerable expense. “We want our story... Read more »
Dermot-Desmond

Fit to Print?

‘IT’ BLACK AND WHITE KNIGHTS

LAST October, Denis O’Brien made the cryptic comment that he understood “The Irish Times is currently considering various funding options” and that certain media would not survive for long more... Read more »

Last Refuge

Last Refuge

BRIAN MURPHY TO THE FORE AGAIN

SIMON COVENEY’S spin about Leo Varadkar’s street-fighting tactics in Fine Gael’s leadership contest is designed to paint the Cork gent as a statesmanlike figure who is above the no-holds barred... Read more »
Regina Doherty

Last Refuge

NEW TAOISEACH’S CABINET OPTIONS

AMBITIOUS Fine Gael junior minsters have been making feverish calculations and permutations about promotion to cabinet as they weigh up their options in the leadership contest. But oddly enough, two... Read more »
Leo Varadkar

Last Refuge

Varadkar’s Allies

CLAIMS of majority parliamentary party support by Varadkar and Coveney’s campaign teams can hardly be accurate (both men are ahead). But Vlad’s side is claiming there are several constituencies where... Read more »

Last Refuge

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S NEW TIMELINE

FIANNA FÁIL’S contortions over garda commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan, reached absurd levels last week when justice spokesperson, Jim O’Callaghan said that if he were justice minister he would sack her. This... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Drunk man’s bold strategy A DRUNK man walked himself into trouble when he went into Anglesea Street Garda Station, Cork City, and verbally abused the guard behind the counter. Insp... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Fowl Emissions

BATES’S BALI-HOO

BACK IN 2007, an international group of respected mainstream scientists co-signed what was known as the Bali Climate Declaration. It warned that global carbon dioxide (CO2) was at its highest... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Bird's Eye View

SDLP’S FAUX CANDIDATES

THE SDLP stands accused of putting up no-hope candidates in two northern constituencies in the UK general election. This is to avoid the opprobrium the party would earn if it... Read more »

Foreign Frolics

Foreign Frolics

THE RUSSIAN HACKING FIASCO

By Mike Whitney THERE’S NO proof that Russia hacked the US elections. There’s no proof Russian officials or agents colluded with members of the Trump campaign. There’s no proof that... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

I had a very clear idea that I wanted to save journalism. Mark Little in an ad for RTÉ’s MojoCon or Mobile Journalism Conference, RTÉ.ie, Submitted by reader [A 5... Read more »

High Society

High Society

High Society

BUYING BALLYMACOLL STUD

THE GREAT and the good of the bloodstock world will descend on Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel at the end of June when Ballymacoll Stud comes... Read more »

High Society

High Society

DRICO’S CONVERSION

A NEW planning application has just been submitted for the redevelopment of an impressive corner house on leafy Palmerston Road, Rathmines. The applicants are... Read more »

High Society

High Society

PAUL SMITHWICK’S ROYAL CONNECTION

CONGRATULATIONS TO Paul Benedict Smithwick who was invited to the British ambassador’s residence at Glencairn to personally receive his Order of the British Empire honour from Prince Charles himself. Given... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

JUMPING THE GUN AT ABBEY

AS PREDICTED by Goldhawk (see The Phoenix 5/5/17), arts minister Heather Humphreys has appointed Frances Ruane, former director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), as chair of the... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

COOKING UP A STORM

NEXT MONTH sees the publication by Mercier Press of the debut book by the latest celebrity chef to hit the airwaves, known by his stage name as Chef Adrian. Certainly,... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Sport of Kings

CATHAL BEALE’S BIG JOB

CATHAL BEALE would not have been a name at the top of many people’s lists when it came to the chief executive vacancy at the Irish National Stud but that... Read more »

Sport of Kings

DAVID WACHMAN’S ‘WINNERS’

WHEN TRAINER David Wachman announced his plan to retire from training last year, a lot of eyebrows were raised among the horsey set who openly questioned how a player with... Read more »

Sport of Kings

GOFFS GETs its MAN

THERE HAS always been a healthy rivalry between the two Irish sales companies, Goffs and Tattersalls Ireland, but Henry Beeby and his team at Goffs have just pulled the rug... Read more »
Jessica Harrington

Sport of Kings

JESSICA’s SYNDICATE

THERE WERE celebrations in Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) when the Jessica Harrington-trained Tilly’s Chilli toughed out a game success at Roscommon recently, the filly’s second victory in a row. The... Read more »

Reviews

Movies

THE JOURNEY – DIRECTED BY NICK HAMM

IRISH AND BRITISH critics have been relatively united in their dismissive attitude to The Journey, Belfast director Nick Hamm’s film about an imagined car trip shared by Martin McGuinness and... Read more »

Books

THE FRACTURED LIFE OF JIMMY DICE – RONAN RYAN (TINDER PRESS)

CLONMEL-BORN Ronan Ryan’s debut novel joins the already saturated field of coming-of-age fiction published over recent years. Ryan’s story begins in 1980 and traces the lives of a close-knit Tipperary... Read more »

Reviews

ASSASSINS – TV3

GANGLAND CRIME and manufactured celebrity are TV3’s central obsessions. Before 9pm most evenings, it’s all X Factor and Xposé but, after the watershed, the station immerses itself in the brutality... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Moneybags

Real value of INM unrecognised by the market

HAVING WITNESSED the rationalisation and reorganisation of Independent News and Media (INM) into a solid financially strong Irish-focused print media operation, Denis O’Brien tried... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Will Druid finally pay off for Providence?

IT IS extraordinary that after 36 years of failure, Providence Resources is still there to engage in one of the most exciting drillings ever... Read more »

Briefcases

Briefcases

O’Gara’s company in the sin bin

CONGRATULATIONS are very much in order to Irish rugby legend Ronan O’Gara who was recently awarded the freedom of his native Cork City. But the former out-half will be less... Read more »

Briefcases

Eugene McCool’s ‘trifling’ complaint

CONGRATULATIONS to solicitor Colin Monaghan who had good day in the Court of Appeal recently. Arthur Cox partner Monaghan has been embroiled in a row with engineer Eugene McCool –principal... Read more »

Briefcases

David Ronan back in court

GOLDHAWK’s old pal Tipperary businessman David Ronan popped up again recently after an interesting day out in the High Court before Judge Robert Haughton at the end of April. Ronan’s... Read more »
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Briefcases

Geoffrey Branigan’s Monkstown moves

SOUTH Dublin businessman Geoffrey Branigan looks like he’s onto a winner now that he’s put his fully renovated Victorian home on Monkstown Road on the market for a cool €1.75m,... Read more »

Briefcases

Rough times for Phelan Hotels

SPARE a thought for the owners of the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght, the company behind which has been hit with a judgment it can scarcely afford. Phelan Hotels Ltd –... Read more »

Briefcases

Sarah Ponsonby’s New Leaf

GOLDHAWK recently came across a company called New Leaf Health Company Gts Ltd with links to an interesting family. New Leaf – which has just collapsed into liquidation – traded... Read more »
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Briefcases

Not really such a difficult choice!

ONE of the more intriguing company names that Goldhawk has come across is Sophie’s Choice Ltd, which collapsed into liquidation earlier this year. It turns out that the Dublin company... Read more »