Affairs of the Nation

Micheál Martin

Affairs of the Nation

MARTIN’S MEA CULPA

THE MOST extraordinary dual admission by Taoiseach Micheál Martin last Sunday appears to have been completely overlooked by the political correspondents and even senior members of Fianna Fáil. Martin told... Read more »
article-default

Affairs of the Nation

CARI’S JUDGMENT

GOLDHAWK WAS surprised to see Fingal County Council registering a judgment for a paltry €6,100 against Cari’s Closet Ltd, which has been the main trading company for red carpet designer,... Read more »
article-default

Affairs of the Nation

TENI’S PRESCRIPTION

THE IRISH College of General Practitioners (ICGP) found itself under the spotlight last week after having to withdraw its online guide for doctors treating transgender patients. The issue focuses attention... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Nick Ashmore

Affairs of the Nation

NICK ASHMORE’S SUCCESSOR

THE SEARCH is on to find a new chief executive at the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), the little known agency that has doled out a whopping €1.7 billion... Read more »
Ulick McEvaddy

Affairs of the Nation

ULICK McEVADDY’S RED FLAG

INTERESTING To see one Ulick McEvaddy pop up as a director of China International Aviation Leasing Services Ltd (CIALS), the company at the centre of the high-profile detention by the... Read more »
Stephen Lovegrove

Affairs of the Nation

BREXIT INTEL

THE SURPRISE last-minute switch in the appointment of a new national intelligence adviser in the UK has bigger implications than the fact that Brexit negotiator and ‘hawk’ David Frost was... Read more »
article-default

Affairs of the Nation

FARMERS’ FUMING

WHILE most lobbyists at least pay lip service to caring about climate action, the Irish Farmers Association has no such compunctions. At its recent conference, the IFA claimed that farmers... Read more »
Tony Holohan

Affairs of the Nation

FRAZIER V ALI

SECRETARY GENERAL of the Taoiseach’s department, heavy-hitting Martin Fraser, may be the Joe Frazier of government mandarins but chief medical officer Tony Holohan is his Muhammad Ali nemesis. The Covid-19... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Dermot Farrell

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: DERMOT FARRELL

THE NEW Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell, presents as an archaic culchie compared with his predecessor, the urbane liberal, Diarmuid Martin. This characterisation would be wide... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Hazel Chu

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOODS: HAZEL CHU

WITH THE Green Party falling back in the opinion polls from the high points of the 2019 and 2020 local and general elections –... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Dee Forbes

Fit to Print?

RTÉ’S DAMNING STATISTICS

AS GOLDHAWK predicted, much revisionist accountancy speak has been heard from RTÉ management as it demands the latest round of cuts from its benighted staff – not all of whom... Read more »
Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

Fit to Print?

MARK PAUL’S POLEMIC

A PLEA for a raft of state subsidies to prevent newspapers being wiped out by ‘big tech’ was made to the Future of Media Commission by the Irish Times and... Read more »
John Burns

Fit to Print?

LOYAL SUNDAY TIMES

THE AAWRISH edition of the Sunday Times editorialised with sweet reason last weekend about how the north was working its way through the NI protocol until the EU “crassly” threatened... Read more »

Last Refuge

Bertie Ahern

Last Refuge

BERTIE’S LONG GAME

THE MEDIA focus, as well as that of Micheál Martin, was fixed on the number of rebel TDs that attended one or more Zoom meetings addressed by Bertie Ahern recently. Some... Read more »
Willie O'Dea

Last Refuge

MARTIN’S CRITICS

WILY WILLIE O’Dea used his Sunday Independent platform recently to have a go – ostensibly at the Green Party – for obstructing the road through Moyross in his Limerick city... Read more »
Eugene McCartan

Last Refuge

EUGENE MCCARTAN’S COMRADES

DISSENT IN the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) has seen factions from Belfast and Cork focus their dissent on the perennial figure of Eugene McCartan who has been general secretary... Read more »
Gerry Horkan

Last Refuge

FIANNA FÁIL’S CUNNING PLAN

WITH 13 Fianna Fáil Seanad hopefuls vying for the nomination to replace Sinn Féin’s Elisha McCallion on the Industrial and Commercial Panel (Fine Gael has already chosen Limerick ex-senator Maria... Read more »

Hush Hush

Daniel McClean

Hush Hush

DISSIDENTS TRICKED?

THE RECENT, highly professional execution in Belfast of Daniel McClean, a former member of the so-called Óglaigh na hÉireann (ONH) dissident group, is being presented as a ‘purge’ by ONH... Read more »
HushHush-def

Hush Hush

SPY COPS

The so called Spy Cops bill currently being debated in Britain’s parliament gives agents being handled by UK covert forces the right to murder in certain circumstances. This ‘Covert Human... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

“Ride Their Mothers” A man who was intoxicated and abused gardaí in a Boylesports betting shop in Naas was handed a three-month custody order in Naas District Court. Gardaí confronted... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

Marie Donnelly

Fowl Emissions

CLIMATE COUNCIL CHANGES

SWEEPING CHANGES at the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) bode well for future climate action, especially with far fewer economists being involved. In Ireland as elsewhere, economists are deferred to... Read more »

Wigs on the Green

George Bermingham

Wigs on the Green

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM

A DECADE-LONG legal offensive by barrister Eugenie Houston against members of the Bar Council, the Professional Practices Committee (PPC), the Professional Conduct Tribunal (the tribunal) and the barristers Appeals Board over... Read more »
Niall Mellon

Wigs on the Green

MELLON LOLLY

NO DOUBT, like other charities, the fundraising activities of the Mellon Township Trust operation, set up by Niall Mellon many moons ago, have been banjaxed by the pandemic. Happily though,... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Tanya Sweeney

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Take note, Stephen Donnelly: the ‘thumbs-up’ emoji is the most passive-aggressive of all. Tanya Sweeney, Irish Times When O’Connell swept into his Irish forwards coaching job just weeks ago it... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Conn Clissman

High Society

CONN CLISSMANN’S CHARGES

A LEGAL challenge brought by some local residents in south Co Dublin has put a spanner in the works for the developers behind a... Read more »

High Society

Consuelo O’Connor

High Society

JUDY WOODWORTH’S NEW FACES

THERE WAS some relief in Russborough last week when the High Court ruled in favour of the Judy Woodworth-chaired Alfred Beit Foundation (ABF), ordering... Read more »

High Society

Douglas Erskine-Crum

High Society

WHAT NEXT FOR JUDDMONTE?

THE DEATH of Prince Khalid Abdullah Abdulrahman last month at the age of 83 will have been noted by racing fans who had witnessed and followed some of the many... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Sally Rooney

Behind the Scenes

DIFFERENT ELEMENTS

WHEN PRODUCER Ed Guiney of Element Pictures appeared by Zoom on RTÉ News last week to gush about the Golden Globe nominations for the adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People,... Read more »
Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

Behind the Scenes

COMMISSION CALL

A LITTLE late in the day culture minister Catherine Martin has got around to seeking to fill the half dozen vacancies in the Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC). Perhaps filling the... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Ruby Walsh

Sport of Kings

DENIS EGAN’S HEADACHE

THERE HAS been a full agenda for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) in recent times. In addition to dealing with a high-profile appeal from Charles Byrnes among other issues,... Read more »
Amer Abdulaziz

Sport of Kings

ABDULAZIZ UNSADDLED IN DUBAI

THE BELEAGUERED Phoenix Thoroughbreds were dealt another blow recently when the racing authorities in Dubai began refusing entries for Phoenix-owned horses. This effectively rules the nags out of competing in... Read more »
Patrick Mullins

Sport of Kings

HANDICAPPING PATRICK MULLINS

IRELAND’S TOP amateur jockeys face an anxious time as they await to hear if a ban on amateurs riding in England will be lifted in time for the Cheltenham Festival... Read more »
Joseph O'Brien

Sport of Kings

CLAIM GAME

THE ANTIQUATED nature of the system put in place by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) for owners and trainers to lodge claims when seeking to purchase a horse from a claiming... Read more »

Reviews

Naked truth

Books

NAKED: TEN TRUTHS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE – CAROLINE FORAN

THE LUCRATIVE literary genre of personal development continues to flourish – particularly during the current lockdowns, as stressed-out readers search for answers about coping with uncertain times. In response, supposedly... Read more »
Davy Fitzgerald

Reviews

DAVY’S TOUGHEST TEAM – RTÉ ONE

IN ADDITION to being one of the most high-profile sports managers in the country, the past seven years have seen Davy Fitzgerald develop an unlikely parallel career as TV impresario.... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Robert Etchingham

Moneybags

APPLEGREEN SHAREHOLDERS HAVE THE POWER TO SHOOT DOWN POOR OFFER

BOB ETCHINGHAM and his partner Joe Barrett have made Applegreen a real success, with 559 petrol station forecourts and service centres spread between Ireland,... Read more »

Moneybags

Urs Jordi

Moneybags

GOOD TIMES AHEAD FOR ARYZTA SHAREHOLDERS?

FORMER ARYZTA chairman Gary McGann effectively signed his own death warrant when he pulled off a hugely damaging 10-for-1 rights issue in September 2018... Read more »

Brief Cases

Greg Alken

Brief Cases

ALKEN BROTHERS CORKED

THE HAPLESS Alken brothers, Anthony and Greg, suffered another setback recently when the High Court ordered the winding-up of one of their companies, Emile Investments Holding Ltd. The Alkens were... Read more »
Chay Bowes

Brief Cases

CHAY BOWES AND THE ‘SHADOWY FORCES’

IT’S BEEN a surprisingly quiet start for Health Reform Ireland (HRI), Chay Bowes’s new think tank that will, in his words, fight “the shadowy forces that operate on the fringes... Read more »
Marcus Carne

Brief Cases

ANNE HERATY’S KINGSPAN SHARES

GOLDHAWK UNDERSTANDS that when you’ve just sold your company for an eye-watering €318m, six-figure sums might seem particularly trifling – forgettable, even. But it was nonetheless surprising to find that... Read more »
WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

Brief Cases

WINDING UP KEATING

FANS OF Goldhawk may not be too surprised to hear that Clare-headquartered construction and marine/civil engineering powerhouse Keating has ended up in liquidation. This comes four months after a High... Read more »
WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

Brief Cases

SEAN GANLEY CALLS TIME

SEAN GANLEY, brother of Rivada boss Declan, has called time on GSC International Business Development, an ambitious effort to provide paid advice to the business leaders of the world. GSC... Read more »
Judy Woodworth

Brief Cases

JUDY WOODWORTH’S APOLLO MISSION

THE LEGAL action lodged last year by Wicklow farmer David Egar against the Alfred Beit Foundation (ABF) is winding its way slowly through the system. But, while ABF chair Judy... Read more »