Affairs of the Nation

Regina Doherty

Affairs of the Nation

FINE GAEL GUNNING FOR ELECTION

A TRIO of young but influential Fine Gael ministers has persuaded most of their party members in cabinet that an early general election – by end of year – is... Read more »
Marie Heaney

Affairs of the Nation

SEAMUS HEANEY’S EXPENSIVE ARCHIVE

THERE HAS been plenty of gushing coverage of the Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again exhibition that marks the overdue opening of the Bank of Ireland’s Cultural and Heritage Centre at... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

INM’S DATA DILEMMA

THE ODCE investigation into the massive data breach at Independent News & Media (INM) has dominated coverage of the issue. The ODCE’s involvement is likely to be long and complex... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Eoghan Murphy

Affairs of the Nation

EOGHAN MURPHY STRIKES BACK

TD Kate O’Connell’s public assault on her Fine Gael constituency ‘colleague’ Eoghan Murphy – for his alleged impotence over the planned Metrolink’s desecration of Ranelagh – saw rapid retaliatory action... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

RONAN KEATING’S PAL

WITH BOYZONE having kicked off their farewell (at last!) tour in the UK, lead singer Ronan Keating still found time to tweet his support for Andrew Tinkler, who had been... Read more »
Prince Harry

Affairs of the Nation

BENDING THE KNEE

THERE is something out of sync with the rush to fete the sixth in line to the British crown, the Duke (and Duchess) of Sussex, aka Harry and Meghan. An... Read more »
Michéal Martin

Affairs of the Nation

THE BUDGET: GUNS OR HOUSES?

MICHEÁL MARTIN and his party face an interesting dilemma in the run-up to the October budget as opposition TDs are mobilising against a sharp rise in defence spending as demanded... Read more »
Declan O'Callaghan

Affairs of the Nation

DECLAN O’CALLAGHAN’S EXIT

IT MAY not come as too great a surprise to hear that controversial Ballaghaderreen legal eagle Declan O’Callaghan has decided to step down as chair of an organisation called Council... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

WRONG SIGNAL

RACO (the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers) keeps up with military events at home as well as abroad and most members of this elite officer corps would approve the government... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Commissioner Drew Harris

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: COMMISSIONER DREW HARRIS

THE appointment of PSNI deputy chief constable Drew Harris, as the new garda commissioner drew mildly critical comment from Sinn Féin but it is... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Emer Currie

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOOD: EMER CURRIE

UNEASY LIES the head that serves the king seems to be the motto for Fine Gael in Dublin West where 39-year-old marketing analyst Emer... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Michael D Higgins

Fit to Print?

MICHAEL D’S CHORUS

THE IRISH TIMES has shown surprisingly little appetite for the high-minded ethical argument that there should be a presidential contest and has not disguised its undiluted support for Michael D... Read more »
Gilad Erdan

Fit to Print?

ISRAELIS FIX IRISH MEDIA POLLS

THE ISRAELI propaganda machine is flushed with victory after overturning for the second time an Irish poll which, before being targeted by the Israelis, showed a two-to-one majority in favour... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

OFFENDING ALAN SHATTER

THERE was apprehension, on both sides ahead of a meeting between Irish Independent editor Fionnan Sheehan and Alan Shatter to discuss terms of a settlement over erroneous Indo comments on... Read more »

Last Refuge

Frances Fitzgerald

Last Refuge

FRANCES AND PRECOCIOUS VLAD

THERE’S INGRATITUDE and ingratitude and then there’s Frances Fitzgerald’s attitude to her leader, Leo Varadkar. Fragrant Frances quipped at a fundraiser for Mary Newman – sister of TD Kate O’Connell... Read more »
Liadh Ní Riada

Last Refuge

SINN FEIN’S PRESIDENTIAL DELUSIONS

HAS Mary Lou McDonald driven Sinn Féin into a no-win situation with her demand for a presidential election and the proposal that SF will fill the void either with its... Read more »
Conor Lenihan

Last Refuge

CONOR LENIHAN COMEBACK?

FORMER MINISTER Conor Lenihan made a surprise visit to his old stomping ground of Dublin South-West recently where, at his own request, he addressed local Fianna Fáil councillors on the... Read more »
Catherine Noone

Last Refuge

FINE GAEL SEARCHING FOR WOMEN

THE DAMNED gender quota for general election candidates coupled with the current feminist upsurge is causing serious problems for the lads in the Blueshirt leadership, locally and nationally. One way... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

DRUNK FARMER’S TROUSERS FELL DURING PURSUIT A DRUNK farmer who hitched a lift from his son on the back of his tractor exposed his backside after his trousers fell down... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

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Fowl Emissions

‘FAKE MOOS’

ASTONISHING progress has been achieved by the Irish dairy sector in the last few years in massively increasing production while simultaneously almost flat-lining emissions. As Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said... Read more »
Evelyn Cusack

Fowl Emissions

VARIABLE EVELYN

THE ONGOING heatwave seems to have got people over at Met Éireann HQ in Glasnevin a little hot under the collar. With the unflappable Gerry Fleming no longer at the... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Leo Varadkar

Bird's Eye View

NORDIES’ VIEW OF LEO VARADKAR

LEO VARADKAR has probably uttered millions of words since he became Taoiseach. But the words that set little men lepping around inside Northern nationalist heads, banging gongs and whooping, were... Read more »

Clerical Errors

Mary McAleese

Clerical Errors

METHOD TO McALEESE MADNESS

MANY IRISH Catholics believe former President Mary McAleese has lost a sense of balance on controversial gender issues as instanced by her latest condemnation of church teaching on homosexuality as... Read more »

Beyond the Pale

Deirdre De Burca

Beyond the Pale

JACK HITS THE ROAD

WICKLOW would normally be an easy bet for any Labour Party general election candidate, especially one who is chairman of the party and who was for years the face of... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Sharon Horgan

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

In Ireland, where I lived, there was no such thing as a streetlight, so you looked outside and your own imagination would decide what was there. Sharon Horgan remembers growing... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Patrick Doran

High Society

PATRICK DORAN’S HAPPY FAMILY

A NEW planning application has been submitted for Fintragh, one of a number of houses on Shrewsbury Road that has changed hands over the... Read more »

High Society

Belinda Kieswetter

High Society

KIESWETTER V O’BRIEN

WHILE COVERAGE of the Irish Derby weekend at The Curragh was dominated by the exploits of brothers Joseph and Donnacha O’Brien there was also... Read more »

High Society

Victoria Beckham

High Society

POSH SPICE AND ALI HEWSON

ACROSS THE Irish Sea, Victoria Beckham’s fashion retail outfit has been running up big bills, resulting in slashed prices. Back in Ireland, there are some investors well aware of the... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Eleanor McEvoy

Behind the Scenes

ELEANOR McEVOY’S SAD SONG

LAST WEEK singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy put on her hat as chair of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) – which represents songwriters, composers and music publishers – to bemoan a... Read more »
Rebecca Moynihan

Behind the Scenes

A SMASHING PLAN!

IN MARCH this year, the wheels came off Filmbase when Tom Murray was appointed liquidator but the story is far from over. For example, the Comptroller & Auditor General was... Read more »
Josepha Madigan

Behind the Scenes

JOSEPHA MADIGAN STARTS TO BUILD

IT’S FAIR to say there are few surprises in the expensive film industry review commissioned by Heather Humphreys in November 2016 from London consultants OlsbergSPI. In fact, the real surprise... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Kevin Manning

Sport of Kings

KEVIN MANNING’S MISTAKE

NORMALLY when a rider appears to ease up prematurely in a race and loses a placing (possibly as a result of those actions), then that rider could easily have a... Read more »
Dessie Scahill

Sport of Kings

AFTER DESSIE SCAHILL

AFTER NEARLY half a century as Ireland’s chief race commentator, Dessie Scahill will call his last race at the end of this month. Scahill’s contract is up for renewal at... Read more »
Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

WINDING UP XENOBIA

THERE WERE a lot of surprised punters in Fairyhouse last weekend when the Bill Farrell-trained 12/1 shot Xenobia rode to victory ahead of Aidan O’Brien’s odds-on favourite, Could It Be... Read more »
Luke Comer

Sport of Kings

LUKE COMER JNR SHOWS THE WAY

AS HIS father’s lengthy quest to train a winner continues, Luke Comer Jnr got his own training career off to a decent start when Great Grey gave the rookie handler... Read more »
Garry O'Gorman

Sport of Kings

WILLIE MULLINS’S BELLE DU JOUR

THE IRISH Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) senior flat handicapper Garry O’Gorman has come in for criticism after a minor race at Leopardstown where the little known Willie Mullins-trained filly Bronagh’s... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Simon Cook

Moneybags

DRAPER ESPRIT GROWS BUT STILL IMPOSSIBLE TO VALUE

NO PRIVATE equity groups are quoted on the Irish Stock Exchange besides Draper Esprit (DE), which floated off on the ESM two years ago... Read more »

Moneybags

Louis Coetzee

Moneybags

KIBO MINING COULD REWARD PATIENCE

KIBO MINING, set up in 2008 by Galway geologist Noel O’Keeffe, mainly focused on gold exploration in Tanzania around Victoria Lake. After years of... Read more »

Briefcases

Sonya Lennon

Briefcases

SONYA LENNON’S STYLE GUIDE

CLOTHING designer (sorry “fashion guru”) and all round do-gooder Sonya Lennon popped up in Leinster House last week to highlight the growing number of what she calls “gender pay gap... Read more »
Orna Madden

Briefcases

JIM AND ORNA’S DAY IN COURT

ONE OF Goldhawk’s old pals, dentist-turned-developer Jim Madden, popped up in court last week where he had to pay a fine for some dodgy pharmaceutical dealings. Also in trouble was... Read more »
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Briefcases

PETER KELLY’S KENTUCKY SURPRISE

LAST MONTH saw the registering of a hefty €2.73m judgment by the Yank outfit Keeneland Association Inc against Emerald Equine Ltd in Kildare. The latter is an Irish bloodstock operation... Read more »
Peter Gaynor and Clodagh McKenna

Briefcases

PETER GAYNOR’S BAD DISH

THERE HAS been a lot of changing of ingredients at the Capital Foods Group, the Peter Gaynor/John Collins operation behind familiar names like Beeftro and Clodagh’s Kitchen (fronted by celebrity... Read more »
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Briefcases

ANGELA OMAN’S ANTIQUE ACTION

BACK IN the good times, James Oman – whose day job was running the high profile Oman Antiques Gallery on Capel Street, D2, with his wife Angela – developed a... Read more »
Brian de Staic

Briefcases

BRIAN DE STAIC’S JEWELLERY CASE

THIS WEEK is set to witness a pow-wow between the parties in a High Court action taken by well-known “jeweller to the stars” Brian de Staic (who claims the likes... Read more »