Affairs of the Nation

Micheál Martin

Affairs of the Nation

SF SPECTRE LOOMS

FIANNA FÁIL TDs believe that Micheál Martin will be forced to do the U-turn of the millennium and form a coalition government with Sinn Féin after the arithmetic reality in... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

JOSEPHA’S VACANCIES

ONE OF the games played by politics watchers around election time is clocking how many board appointments the various outgoing ministers manage to make before a new government is finally... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

TARGETING THE SCIENTOLOGISTS

THE RULING earlier this month by High Court judge Mark Heslin greenlighting the Scientologists’ multi-million euro drug treatment centre in the Meath village of Ballivor has put the issue back... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Eoghan Murphy

Affairs of the Nation

MURPHY’S LAW RUNS IN RANELAGH

Even if Eoghan Murphy is relieved of his environment ministerial portfolio, he may not be free from planning issues. The local worthies in Ranelagh were less than impressed when, on... Read more »
John Paul O'Shea

Affairs of the Nation

FARMERS’ VENGEANCE ON CREED

A BIG scalp hiding in plain sight is that of Michael Creed but, if the agriculture minister loses his seat, which Fine Gael members fear will happen, it will be... Read more »
Jack Chambers

Affairs of the Nation

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Leo Varadkar’s two-and-a-half years as taoiseach saw him use the previously obscure ‘money message’ to block 55 pieces of legislation that had won majority Dáil support. Frustrated opposition parties last... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

ARTHUR NUGENT’S LICENCE

GOLDHAWK has reported elsewhere (see p5) on the bruising judgment issued by Judge Peter Kelly in the High Court in relation to an appeal lodged by the Property Services Regulatory... Read more »
Tony Ensor

Affairs of the Nation

TACKLING TONY ENSOR

FORMER LAW Society president and international rugby star Tony Ensor exposed a soft shoulder to High Court president Peter Kelly earlier this month. The judge ruled in favour of an... Read more »
Robert Nairac

Affairs of the Nation

ROBERT NAIRAC OUTED

BRITISH ARMY undercover operative Captain Robert Nairac’s central involvement in the 1975 Miami Showband Massacre has now been finally confirmed at Belfast High Court, as Goldhawk predicted (see The Phoenix,... Read more »
Micheál Martin

Affairs of the Nation

ARAMARK DROPS OUT

Activists in Trinity College Dublin are basking in the afterglow of a victory in their fight against the on-campus presence of US food services giant Aramark, which owns posh food... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Eamon Ryan

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: EAMON RYAN

IS EAMON RYAN poised to become tánaiste in a coalition government that again involves the Green Party? And again with Fianna Fáil? The Green... Read more »

The Young Bloods

James O'Connor

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOOD: JAMES O’CONNOR

YOUNG FIANNA Fáil candidate James O’Connor was lucky to land on the general election ticket in the Cork East constituency, but the whippersnapper may... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Betty Purcell

Fit to Print?

MARKING PAUL’S CARDS

A CLARIFICATION in the Irish Times noted recently that its article about foreign investment in Israel “involved a visit to Israel… organised and funded by the Europe Israel Press Association”... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

‘FRIENDLY’ SPIES

AN INTRIGUING story appeared in the Irish Times before Christmas headlined, “Cabinet warned about threat from foreign spies”. The story referred to a defence policy review that warned of spies... Read more »
Donald Clarke

Fit to Print?

ADVERTISING SNAKE BITES

IN AN unusual departure for the Irish Times, the newspaper devoted two full-coloured broadsheet pages (pages two and three in front of the news section) to an advertisement for Sky... Read more »

Last Refuge

Leo Varadkar

Last Refuge

VARADKAR’S RUNNING MATES

IT’S HARD to recall any taoiseach that has failed to bring in a running mate in their own constituency at a general election and, certainly, Goldhawk’s voluminous files show that,... Read more »
Pa Daly

Last Refuge

HOWLIN’S KERRY BLUES

REPEATED REPORTS that Brendan Howlin and Labour expect to take 14 or 15 seats at the election can best be judged by the complete collapse of the party in what... Read more »
Regina Doherty

Last Refuge

GREY BLUESHIRT STAFF BROWNED OFF

THE Fine Gael boo-boo on pensions has angered not only grey voters – that most prolific cohort – but also grey grafters among the Fine Gael staff in Leinster House.... Read more »
Tim Lombard

Last Refuge

COVENEY’S CAPTAIN IN ELECTION ROW

WITH Fine Gael heading for electoral defeat, the locus of the party leadership is likely to move rapidly from Dublin to Cork with traditional, rural Blueshirts preparing to replace the... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS 3802

DOG ATE PENALTY NOTICE A solicitor proffered a familiar excuse for his client’s failure to pay a fixed-charge penalty notice during a hearing at Cahersiveen District Court. Defendant John Kennedy... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Phil Hogan

Fowl Emissions

CLIMATE ELECTION?

With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, surely this was to be climate election? Surveys show a majority of voters want climate action to be a priority. Journalists... 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

GAS MAN PHIL HOGAN

As Blueshirt ministers do their best to sound concerned about the climate crisis, former colleague Phil Hogan is refreshingly devoid of such virtue-signalling. Speaking in Washington, the EU’s new trade... Read more »

Foreign Frolics

Jeffrey Donaldson

Foreign Frolics

BAHRAIN AND THE DUP

THE TWO death sentences on civil rights activists in Bahrain would be a further embarrassment to the DUP if the Irish and British media showed a real interest in human... Read more »
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Foreign Frolics

NOEL CORCORAN’S HUMANITARIAN FUND

GOLDHAWK spotted an entity with the impressive name of The United Development Humanitarian Fund being added to the Companies Office strike-off list. This turns out to be an operation established... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Sarah Louise Mulligan

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE 3802

Hello my fellow citizen, this is my first time running in, The General Election but it’s now time to bring about change & if your sick & tired of the... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Consuelo O’Connor

High Society

FIONA McHUGH’S OTHER INVESTOR

WITH THE denizens of leafy Dublin 6 still mourning the passing of their beloved Fallon & Byrne supermarket – sorry, food hall – and... Read more »

High Society

Eva Orsmond

High Society

DR EVA’S PRISON

FANS OF health guru Dr Eva Orsmond have presumably been glued to the TV on Sunday nights to watch Dr Eva’s Great Escape, in... Read more »

High Society

Adrian Blanc

High Society

ADRIAN BLANC’S FOXROCK PILE

IF THE last couple of years were bad ones for Foxrock-based suit Adrian Blanc (also known as Adrian Le Blanc), 2020 hasn’t got off to a better start, with the... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Josepha Madigan

Behind the Scenes

IN AND OUT AT THE ARTS COUNCIL

SOME ITEMS in the recent Arts Council minutes caught Goldhawk’s eye. For example, it was noted, “There is still uncertainty over the allowable use of €1.5m of the [2020] grant... Read more »
Siún Ní Raghallaigh

Behind the Scenes

VARADKAR’S PLOT SPOILER

THE UPWARDS trajectory continues for Troy Studios in Limerick, where Siún Ní Raghallaigh, chief executive and shareholder, has proved adept at squeezing public cash out of various sources. Some comments... Read more »
Blake Lively

Behind the Scenes

BLAKE LIVELY’S RHYTHM SECTION

FANS OF The Phoenix who like their Nordic-Noir detective series may have watched the last episode of Wisting on BBC4 last week, but only those who watched through to the... Read more »
Eleanor McEvoy

Behind the Scenes

NEW TUNE FOR THE NCH

IT WILL be interesting to see if culture minister Josepha Madigan looks to make a few board appointments before the new government is in place. One of the national cultural... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Amer Abdulaziz

Sport of Kings

PHOENIX RISES

DESPITE EXPLOSIVE allegations late last year of money laundering and using the proceeds of a crypto-currency Ponzi scheme to fund the investment of tens of millions of euro into bloodstock... Read more »
Brian Hughes

Sport of Kings

BRIAN HUGHES’S OPPORTUNITY

THE SAYING ‘one man’s loss is another man’s gain’ can often ring true in jump racing and the recent injury suffered by reigning champion jockey Richard Johnson is a case... Read more »
Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

Sport of Kings

MICK O’LEARY’S RATING PROBLEM

WITH THE Cheltenham Festival looming, the thorny issue of Irish-trained horses being allotted higher handicap marks in Britain compared to Ireland has again raised its head. Questions were asked a... Read more »
John Magnier

Sport of Kings

JOHN MAGNIER’S FRENCH FANCY

COOLMORE STUD is known to be relentless in its pursuit of dominance in the breeding world and the latest acquisition by John Magnier and his squad of heavy hitters is... Read more »

Reviews

Suzanne Jackson

Reviews

THE STYLE COUNSELLORS – (RTÉ 1)

THE LATEST home-produced makeover series is presented by Suzanne Jackson and Eileen Smith – described by RTÉ as “two social media sensations”. At the start of each programme, the 35-year-old... Read more »
Blindboy

Books

BLINDBOY BOATCLUB – BOULEVARD WREN AND OTHER STORIES (GILL BOOKS)

THE FIRST laugh generated by Boulevard Wren unintentionally arrives courtesy of the publishers, Gill Books, which assert that Blindboy Boatclub is “one of Ireland’s most anarchic satirists”. It’s a description... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Ian Ireland

Moneybags

IAN IRELAND IMPRESSES AT DONEGAL INVESTMENTS

IAN IRELAND, a Denis Brosnan acolyte at Kerry Group, has been running Donegal Creameries – now called the Donegal Investment Group (DIG) – for... Read more »

Moneybags

John O'Connor

Moneybags

KOLLECT TAPS SCANDINAVIAN MARKET

WATERFORD entrepreneur John O’Connor pulled off a neat trick in raising €2.5m by offering shares in his Kollect waste operation at €1.33 on the... Read more »

Brief Cases

Clodagh Edwards

Brief Cases

IMAGE MEDIA’S IMAGE PROBLEM

A BAD HAIR day for Image Publications CEO Clodagh Edwards, whose Irish female-fronted glossy monthly Image magazine came under fire online earlier this month over the late payment of freelancers.... Read more »
Charles Caldwell

Brief Cases

DOMINO’S DOUGH KNOTS IN A TWIST

THE TAXMAN placed a tall order with Domino’s this month. It successfully quashed an appeal by the pizza chain’s Irish franchisee, Karshan (Midlands) Ltd, over the question of whether it... Read more »
Frank Hynes

Brief Cases

HYNES DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

THE INEVITABLE has arrived for embattled jewellery merchant Frank Hynes (see The Phoenix, 13/12/19). His business, Hynes Jewellers (Wexford) Ltd, was wound up by the taxman earlier this month. Revenue... Read more »
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Brief Cases

ALAN SMYTH’S WEEDS

THE WEEDS have appeared for Kildare-based landscape gardening consultant Alan Smyth, who had a judgment for €185,000 registered against him by the taxman earlier this month. The former civil engineer,... Read more »
Colm Wu

Brief Cases

NUMBER 88 NOT SO LUCKY FOR WU

A BAD start to the Chinese New Year for Chinese businessman Guoqing Wu (known here as Colm Wu). The taxman came along to spoil celebrations when a judgement for €88,000... Read more »
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Brief Cases

FETHERSTON’S CLEAR OUT

MICHAEL FETHERSTON, the low-profile operator of the TLC nursing homes group, has featured heavily in the headlines recently. The moneybags will soon finalise the purchase of deluxe golf resort the... Read more »
Julia Marciniak

Brief Cases

MARCINIAK MAKES HER MARK

THE DUST is not going to settle for troubled upmarket grocer Fallon & Byrne any time soon. Even though a recent cash injection from the company’s remaining investors is welcome,... Read more »
WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

Brief Cases

WASTE NOT, WANT LOTS

THINGS ARE tense in the town of Tullamore, Co Offaly, where local businessmen Brian Colgan and Brendan Guinan have elevated an ongoing dispute to the High Court. Guinan, through his... Read more »
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Brief Cases

BRIAN CONROY’S RECEIVERS

BANK OF IRELAND has appointed receivers Abdullahi Jambo and Richard Keith Roe, of Eddisons Commercial Ltd in Leeds, in relation to a €1m mortgage charged on one of the properties... Read more »