Affairs of the Nation

Maria Bailey

Affairs of the Nation

MARIA BAILEY FOR THE CHOP

WHAT A confusing series of leaks there has been about Maria Bailey and the Fine Gael general election ticket in Dún Laoghaire in the last week. Cui Bono? Richard Bruton’s... Read more »
article-default

Affairs of the Nation

JAMES GOUGH’S GRIPE

JAMES GOUGH continues to be a thorn in the side of the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners (AIRO). Having taken a successful legal action against the body after he was... Read more »
Rose Hynes

Affairs of the Nation

REAPPOINTING ROSE

WHILE THE decision by Shane Ross to quietly extend the tenure of Shannon Airport chair Rose Hynes did not come as a shock, not everyone is happy with the decision.... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Michelle O'Neill

Affairs of the Nation

SF DEMOCRACY DEBATE

THE CHALLENGE to Sinn Féin’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, from Assembly heavyweight John O’Dowd could become a test of the party’s willingness to embrace political debate and internal democracy. That, at... Read more »
Michael Doorly

Affairs of the Nation

ABC ANSWERS ELUSIVE

ONE QUESTION that arises from Independent News & Media’s (INM’s) decision to withdraw from the Audited Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is whether it was INM or its new owners, Mediahuis,... Read more »
Mary McAleese

Affairs of the Nation

MARY MCALEESE’S LATEST GIG

WHAT IS it with Trinity College Dublin, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the preference for chancellors named Mary? Last month, the Irish Times reported that Mary McAleese is set... Read more »
John Murray

Affairs of the Nation

JAW-JAW AND WAR-WAR

US VICE-PRESIDENT Mike Pence set the scene for two upcoming conferences on war when he praised the “security partnership” between Ireland and the US and our “close co-ordination” with “US... Read more »
Ger O'Neill

Affairs of the Nation

EXPERTS GULLED BY FRAUDSTERS

AN Irish Independent report last June of an accident claim dismissed as “not credible” by a High Court judge greatly understated Judge Michael Twomey’s dramatic and damning conclusions. “Not credible”... Read more »
Owen Keegan

Affairs of the Nation

BEWARE CLAMPERS

DUBLIN CITY Council (DCC) has finally signed a new contract with parking enforcement (clamping) company Dublin Street Parking Services Ltd (DSPS). This should ensure plenty more moolah for the two... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Paul O'Neill

Pillars of Society

PROFILE – PAUL O’NEILL

PHOENIX READERS will have been entertained by the anguished debate in which Irish Times journalists have become embroiled over alleged sexism at the “macho”,... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Roderic O'Gorman

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOODS – RODERIC O’GORMAN

Can Roderic O’Gorman ride the green wave all the way to Leinster House? To do so, the Green Party councillor will have to win... Read more »

Fit to Print?

John Brassil

Fit to Print?

KERRY OWN GOAL

KERRY’S FOOTBALLERS dominated media coverage in the Kingdom this week but another battle – between a local sports titan and Fianna Fáil TD John Brassil – was played out in... Read more »
Ed Moloney

Fit to Print?

MOUNTBATTEN: CASE FOR THE DEFENCE

THERE HAS been little media comment about reports, backed up by interviews with abused victims, that Lord Louis Mountbatten – great-uncle and mentor to Prince Charles – abused boys from... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

‘SUNDAY TIMES’ AND WOMEN

SUNDAY TIMES associate editor John Burns has leaped to the defence of his male colleagues at the Irish Times and has regurgitated their denial that a male bias is shown... Read more »

Last Refuge

Simon Coveney

Last Refuge

COVETOUS COVENEY LURKS STILL

LAST WEEKEND Sunday Independent columnist Eoghan Harris tipped Simon ‘Covetous’ Coveney to take out Leo Varadkar as leader if Fine Gael loses the next election to Fianna Fáil. This forecast... Read more »
Lisa Chambers

Last Refuge

LEFT-RIGHT FIANNA FÁIL SPLIT

EVERY YEAR since the 2016 general election, Willie O’Dea has led a charge to bolster Fianna Fáil’s working-class base, with the parliamentary party and frontbench dividing on the issue of... Read more »
Shane Ross

Last Refuge

SHANE ROSS’S CONFIDENCE

AN UNEASY calm has settled on the Seanad since Shane Ross’s Judicial Appointments Commission Bill was allowed to pass through committee stage last July after a filibuster not seen since... Read more »
John Deasy

Last Refuge

POST DEASY CIVIL WAR

FRESH FROM feeding off the political carcass of local TD John Deasy, Waterford Blueshirts are now divided into three new factions behind the candidates fighting to be added to the... Read more »

Hush Hush

Lord Mountbatten

Hush Hush

MOUNTBATTEN AND WARRENPOINT

THERE IS nothing in the latest book about Lord Louis Mountbatten, The Mountbattens, that explains how the IRA was able to assassinate him in August 1979 as well as slaughter... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

WORTH HER WEIGHT IN BEER JULIA GALVIN is one of the most sought-after contestants for the World Wife Carrying competitions. She was invited to take part in China’s National Wife... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Wes Edens

Fowl Emissions

GARDEN OF EDENS

US billionaire Wes Edens has an “affinity for the underdog”, according to the Wall Street Journal. Edens is founder and CEO of New Fortress Energy, which last year bought Shannon... Read more »
Climate Disinformation Coillte Climate Action EU Livestock NDC Claude Etchelamendy Ed Brophy Richard Boyd-Barrett Kish Dale Crammond Frank Mitloehner Shell Greenwashing Meta Data Centres Ireland

Fowl Emissions

NOW THAT’S GAS!

A criticism often levelled at big fossil fuel infrastructure projects is that the “receiving community” (ie the locals) get little or no share in the financial spoils. Happily, this is... Read more »

Bird's Eye View

Dominic Cummings

Bird's Eye View

DIRECT RULE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND

The British Labour party’s shadow Brexit minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not even trying to get a deal with the EU. All the... Read more »
Diarmuid Martin

Bird's Eye View

DERMO DENIED RED HAT – AGAIN

AN unprecedented public insight into the arcane world of how Rome deals with ageing Church leaders was provided by the normally taciturn papal nuncio, 62-year-old Nigerian-born Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo.... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Mark Cagney

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Some people can read Finnegans Wake and come away thinking it’s an easy-peasy love story. Others can read the ingredients on a chocolate bar wrapper and unlock the secrets of... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Ross Lewis

High Society

ROSS LEWIS’S PLANNING RECIPE

WHILE TOP chef Ross Lewis is best known for his uber-popular and award-laden Chapter One restaurant on Dublin’s Parnell Square, he also controls a... Read more »

High Society

Consuelo O’Connor

High Society

JOHN MAGNIER’S ADVERTS

FIGURES JUST filed for Primus Advertising and Marketing add another few bob to the wealth of John Magnier, although just what he’s worth is... Read more »

High Society

Tara Fay and Bruce Russell

High Society

TARA FAY’S BUSY SCHEDULE

VIEWERS of RTÉ are getting a taste of the recently launched autumn season, which features the usual mixed bag. One programme that kicks off a new season next week is... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Claire Kilroy

Behind the Scenes

JOSEPHA’S FAMOUS FIVE

LAST WEEK, culture minister Josepha Madigan announced the first €20,000-a-head winners of the Markievicz Awards – the minister’s new bursary scheme to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first female... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

ARTS COUNCIL VACANCIES

MINISTER FOR Culture Josepha Madigan is finally to get around to filling those empty Arts Council seats, given that the closing date for applications for three posts was Tuesday. The... Read more »
Désirée Finnegan

Behind the Scenes

BREXIT’S NO-DEAL HORROR PLOT

THE LIKELY ‘no-deal’ Brexit scenario is a horror plot for the Irish film and TV industry, since a high proportion of the players depend on production decisions green-lit in the... Read more »

Sport of Kings

JP McManus

Sport of Kings

JP’S POOR PUNT

WHEN COOLMORE wonder sire Galileo began his 2014 covering season, his list of mares would have resembled a who’s who of the racing and bloodstock industry. One name on the... Read more »
Denis Hogan

Sport of Kings

DENIS HOGAN’S TOUGH BREAK

THE UPWARDLY mobile Tipperary trainer Denis Hogan has become the first trainer for many years to have a horse disqualified due to anabolic steroids in its system. However, Hogan has... Read more »
Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

AND THEY’RE OFF… ALREADY?

AFTER AN unexplained weighing scales incident in early August, which saw the winner of a race disqualified over a matter of ounces, Sligo racecourse found itself under scrutiny after a... Read more »
Gordon Elliot

Sport of Kings

ELLIOTT’S TICKING CLOCK

IT IS that time of year when the Gordon Elliott versus Willie Mullins narrative starts to get an airing. Time could be running out for the former to grab the... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Colin Hunt

Moneybags

AIB IS UNDERVALUED BY MARKET

WITH BANK of Ireland (BoI) aiming to be the “national champion bank”, it is difficult to know where this puts AIB, which has recently... Read more »

Moneybags

Donal Murphy

Moneybags

DCC’S HIGH SHARE RATING HARD TO JUSTIFY

SINCE HE took charge in July 2017, Donal Murphy has partly reduced the breadth of DCC’s operations as it retreats somewhat from its claimed... Read more »

Brief Cases

Fergal Murtagh

Brief Cases

FERGAL MURTAGH’S HOUSE HEADACHES

SPARE A thought for Fergal Murtagh – son of Kingspan co-founder Brendan Murtagh – who has just had a €220,000 judgment registered against him by AIB. The bank took Murtagh... Read more »
Ian Keogh

Brief Cases

IAN KEOGH’S SHRINKING EMPIRE

NEXT WEEK a creditors’ meeting will be held in the Plaza Hotel, Tallaght, to appoint a liquidator to Total Bars Entertainment Ltd. This is one of a number of pub... Read more »
WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

Brief Cases

MYLES CROFTON’S LATEST SETBACKS

BOOM-ERA developer Myles Crofton might be in the process of kick-starting his comeback, but the legacy of the crash still looms large. Documents recently filed with the Companies Office reveal... Read more »
Francesca De Cataldo

Brief Cases

STRIKING OFF FRANCESCA DE CATALDO

GOLDHAWK’S favourite Italian import, Francesca De Cataldo, could end up saying ‘arrivederci’ to her interior design company, Sundogs Rock Productions Ltd. The firm is listed for striking off the Companies... Read more »
Niall McFadden

Brief Cases

DECLAN CASSIDY’S HERITAGE WOES

GOLDHAWK recently came across a company called Heritage Luxury Holdings Ltd, which has just called in the liquidator. Incorporated just last year, Heritage never filed any accounts and details of... Read more »
Sam Allardyce

Brief Cases

CHECKING THE PULSE

A STRUGGLING company called Pulse Fusion F6 Ltd has been hit for a €12,000 rates judgment by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. This is not the first time this interesting company... Read more »
WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

Brief Cases

NOT IN THE PINK

THE EXOTIC-sounding Pink Sands Property Investments Ltd has just been listed for striking off the Companies Register. This could be of interest to the dreaded taxman, who registered a judgment... Read more »