Affairs of the Nation

Paschal Donohoe

Affairs of the Nation

HOLDING THE LINE ON €350

THE LACK of probing by some newspaper editors and parts of the state broadcaster of the party line from Government Buildings has at last begun to fray – at least... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

MICHAEL D’S ‘COCOONING’

ONE PERSON valiantly trying to keep up with Leo Varadkar after that St Patrick’s Day broadcast is one Michael D Higgins, cocooned or not. Normally Michael Twee’s day to shine... Read more »
Brian McEnery

Affairs of the Nation

BRIAN McENERY’S CRITICS

THE SLOW reaction of Simon Harris and the government’s National Public Health Emergency Team to the spread of Covid-19 in nursing homes created significant tensions. However, relations between the body... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Alan Kelly

Affairs of the Nation

KELLY TO PURGE APPARATCHIKS

THE ELECTION of Alan Kelly has led to an expectation of a Stalinist-style clean-out of many of the Labour Party’s functionaries as the new man puts his stamp on a... Read more »
Michele O’Boyle

Affairs of the Nation

FRANCESCA MCDONAGH’S WITHDRAWAL

FRANCESCA MCDONAGH, chief executive of Bank of Ireland (BoI), took everyone, including the government, by surprise with last month’s announcement that no less than 101 branches were being shuttered. Particularly... Read more »
Seamus Coffey

Affairs of the Nation

COFFEY BITES HIS LIP

CONGRATULATIONS to Cork University economist Seamus Coffey on his diplomatic skills as he watched (what did he say?) the government pile huge debts to cope with the pandemic on to... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

CORPSE COUNT

THE BIG avoidance in the Covid-19 crisis is discussion on how to cope with the potential surge in corpses. Not surprisingly, the army and civil defence were reluctant to talk... Read more »
Paul Reid

Affairs of the Nation

SLOWLY DOES IT

THE HEALTH department and HSE’s leisurely approach towards critical care beds has certainly come back to haunt them. The inevitable ‘critical care major surge’ has arrived and shone a very... Read more »
Fred Barry

Affairs of the Nation

WHO WILL INHERIT HOSPITAL MESS?

WHILE SIMON Harris will be glad that the coronavirus crisis is distracting from the mess that is the National Children’s Hospital (NCH), he must be nervous that it might result... Read more »
Gerard Kiely

Affairs of the Nation

GERARD KIELY’S PR

THE EU Commission’s local point man in Ireland, Gerard Kiely, has a tough job promoting a sense of EU unity when the Italians have been left in the lurch and... Read more »
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Affairs of the Nation

THE (NOEL) KELLY GANG

WITH COVID-19 keeping much of the nation glued to RTÉ, we have had more exposure than usual to the celebs managed by super-agent Noel Kelly. On Claire Byrne Live, viewers... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Catherine Martin

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: CATHERINE MARTIN

IT’S THE quiet ones you have to watch, as your mammy will have warned you. For four years, Catherine Martin sat dutifully in the... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Holly Cairns

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOODS: HOLLY CAIRNS

THE STUNNING success of Sinn Féin and the Greens overshadowed the achievement of the Social Democrats in the recent general election, when the party... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Brendan O'Connor

Fit to Print?

RTÉ’S COVID-19 MESSAGE

THERE WAS a noticeable shift in media coverage of the government’s efforts last weekend as hacks woke up to the fact that maybe there was some spinning going on. For... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

SINN FÉIN’S “BELLIGERENCE”

ACCORDING TO Irish Times northern editor Gerry Moriarty, the newly resurrected Stormont executive is in danger of falling apart and it’s all the fault of Sinn Féin’s “belligerence… trying to... Read more »
Stephen Rae

Fit to Print?

STEPHEN RAE’S ‘STRAITS TIMES’

FORMER INDEPENDENT News and Media (INM) group editor Stephen Rae’s been out of the journalism business for a while, but he’s keeping his pen sharp as any subscribers to Singapore’s... Read more »

Last Refuge

Lisa Chambers

Last Refuge

MARTIN’S SEANAD OUTCOME

FIANNA FÁIL leader Micheál Martin gave a tentative sigh of relief when the election results for the Seanad were completed. Mickey is under growing pressure internally in Fianna Fáil because... Read more »
Laura Harmon

Last Refuge

NUI’S INSPIRING GRADUATES

THOSE PATHETIC, second-rate graduates of Limerick and Dublin City universities, who are still deprived of a Seanad vote, can take solace that they didn’t have to wade through the worthy... Read more »
Eoghan Murphy

Last Refuge

MURPHY’S RENTAL FLIP-FLOP

HOUSING MINISTER Eoghan Murphy returned from his post-election vacation abroad in fine fettle, but still went into self-quarantine. Thankfully, the minister for more tents and higher rents enjoys robust good... Read more »
Micheál Martin

Last Refuge

FF’S SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP

THERE HAS been a quiet reappearance of the term “social partnership” in recent weeks and, for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Covid-19 may help to open the door... Read more »

Hush Hush

Jacqui Durkin

Hush Hush

THE RUC’S PROXIES

THE COVERT intelligence operations carried out by RUC Special Branch during the Troubles are still beyond the reach of public investigation. One case featured in a recent report is particularly... Read more »
HushHush-def

Hush Hush

RICHARD BRUTON’S APPOINTMENT

WHILE THE Greens may be determined to stay out of government despite the climate crisis, the wheels keep turning and Richard Bruton is looking for a chair of Sustainable Energy... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

Where’s The Brothel? JOSEPH KERR, of Monuienegh, Ballyheerin, Donegal, was charged in Letterkenny District Court in relation to an 2015 incident involving gardaí. Kerr came to the attention of a... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

John Wenger

Fowl Emissions

COVID-19’S CLIMATE CALAMITY

THE CORONAVIRUS crisis has delivered a harsh reminder that all human enterprises ultimately exist at the whim of nature. The global spread of the virus has been like a silent... 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

HOT STUFF

IN THE middle of a national emergency, it requires a special type of reckless entitlement to be starting illegal fires on the mountains that endanger the lives of emergency service... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Ciara Kelly

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

While other celebrities are collectively losing it, Vogue Williams becomes a quarant-icon. Ciara Kelly, Irish Independent, submitted by reader At the end of the day, we are keeping the flag... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Ali Hewson

High Society

ALI HEWSON’S FASHION CHANGES

THE DIRECTORS of ethical fashion business Edun Apparel have just passed a resolution removing Deloitte as the company’s auditors. It is unclear if this... Read more »

High Society

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High Society

LOSSES AT ARDBRACCAN

THE SQUIRE of Ardbraccan House estate in Co Meath, US moneybags Charles E Noell III, must be pleased with the deal struck last month... Read more »

High Society

Lissadell

High Society

MARTIN SHIELDS BOUNDS FREE

LAST MONTH was a memorable one for the owners of the sprawling Lissadell on leafy Shrewsbury Road, with financier Martin Shields managing to avoid a prison sentence, despite having been... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Loretta Brennan Glucksman

Behind the Scenes

TRISTAN’S GOOD NEWS

JUST AS the nation’s film and TV producers are facing into the Covid-19 production abyss, Michael O’Keefe’s Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has announced the rather timely allocation of €7m from... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S PR INITIATIVE

JOSEPHA MADIGAN suffered some Covid-19 political pain when her PR initiative to provide funding for artists and pat herself on the back was met by an immune response from the... Read more »

Reviews

The Arms Crisis of 1970

Books

THE ARMS CRISIS OF 1970 – MICHAEL HENEY (APOLLO LONDON)

IRISH POLITICS experienced a seminal moment in 1970, with two dismissed former ministers, Charlie Haughey and Neil Blaney, facing trial. The charges related to their alleged involvement in a conspiracy... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Brendan McDonagh

Moneybags

THE REAL COST OF NAMA’S QUINLAN LOANS

MICK WALLACE may be gone to Strasbourg, but his legacy was evident last month with the publication of a report into the sale by... Read more »

Moneybags

Peter Jackson

Moneybags

FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT GETS THE FLUTTERS

COVID-19 has severely impacted Flutter Entertainment. CEO Peter Jackson has estimated that the closedown of global sporting events will hit the bottom line by... Read more »

Brief Cases

Catherine Wiley

Brief Cases

CATHERINE WILEY’S COPYRIGHT HEADACHE

LIKE MANY similar organisations that depend on donations to survive, the Catholic Grandparents Association Ltd (CGA) is facing a tough few months ahead. The problem is that the entity is... Read more »
Ron Weisz

Brief Cases

RON WEISZ’S SEMI-RETIREMENT

THE CANNY old rancher, Leitrim-based American subprime lender Ron Weisz, might be semi-retired, but he’s still being kept busy by his high-interest money-lending business. Weisz’s latest legal adventure involves a... Read more »
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Brief Cases

TULLOW’S AFRICAN ‘PARENT’

AFRICAN BILLIONAIRE oilman Samuel Dossou-Aworet has pushed his stake in his Tullow Oil “baby” to more than 13%. Tullow’s share price has enjoyed a little jump in the last few... Read more »
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Brief Cases

RICHARD MEEHAN’S MENU

A FEW short years ago, Richard Meehan was aiming to build his food distribution company to €30m by 2021. Unfortunately, his business took a 70% wallop thanks to the coronavirus... Read more »
Jim Durie

Brief Cases

JIM DURIE’S FITNESS CHALLENGE

At the same time that gyms have gone quiet during the lockdown, one of the bigger players in the game, the company behind the Énergie Fitness franchise, called a creditors’... Read more »