Affairs of the Nation

Simon Coveney

Affairs of the Nation

MALIGN MISSION

THE IRISH Times reported last week that the government is reconsidering its military mission in Mali, due mainly to security issues; human rights violations by Malian forces; and the increasing... Read more »
Mary Aiken

Affairs of the Nation

MARY AIKEN’S PALS

WITHOUT DOUBT, the most interesting of the women conferred with the freedom of Dublin City last month is Mary Aiken (whose latest gig is Professor of Cyberpsychology at Capitol Technical... Read more »
Sean Delmar

Affairs of the Nation

NOEL SMYTH’S WUFF RIDE

THIS WEEK will see the next chapter in the ongoing saga of a potential sale by the Irish Kennel Club (IKC) of its valuable National Show Centre near Dublin Airport... Read more »

Affairs of the Nation

Colin Hunt

Affairs of the Nation

COLIN HUNT’S PRESIDENCY

THERE WERE eyebrows raised last week when it emerged that AIB’s Colin Hunt is to receive the Ireland-US Council’s 2022 Global Business Leadership award at a black-tie bash, just days... Read more »
Budget Jack Chambers Nicki Minaj B’Tselem Phil Hogan UCD IRTA DIGI Katy Brown Rory Godson Pallonji Mistry Shark Hanlon Frances Ruane Taste of Dublin Listowel Writers’ Week Paddy Curran Harvey Norman Anton Savage Paul Hourican Enda O’Coineen PfP Red C Poll IFTA Ben Gilroy Luke Comer Sue Spence Fingleton Aubrey McCarthy Matt Cooper Parker Green Danny McConnell Gayle Killilea Maura Derivan Ed Honohan INS Arts Council EDAF Emuse Rosslare Golf Club Mairead Casey Colm O’Rourke Stephen Connolly Peter Aiken John Malone Tom Barry Anthony Halpin Ian Kehoe Kevin Bakhurst Geraldine O’Leary Dennis Horgan RUSI Gareth McAllister Ryevale House Joe Macken RUC Omagh Patrick Connolly Paddy Cosgrave The Ditch Newstalk Fake Tan Fred Logue Ian Paisley Sean O’Riordan Margaret Sweeney Jay Bourke Ellie Kisyombe Francesca McDonagh Ted Cunningham National Space Centre An Irish Goodbye Oscar Robert Quirke Ciara Kelly Executive Women Gathering Doug Taylor Florian Haufe Robbie Henshaw Bill Shipsey Breaking the Silence L’Ecrivain Ronan McNally National Lottery Michael Roche Energy Action Balls.ie Newspapers VAT Abbey Theatre Patricia Madden Irish Banking Culture Board Randox Aoife Gallagher Book Dalai Lama Trinity Trevor White RTÉ Chairperson Shane Houlihan Noel Smyth IKC Bob Geldof Landlord Ireland Neutrality Ukraine

Affairs of the Nation

IN PRAISE OF GERALDINE BYRNE NASON

Quite a few diplomatic and political eyebrows were raised last week by the Business Post’s breathless account of how a civil servant, our woman at the UN, Geraldine Byrne Nason,... Read more »
Dónal de Róiste

Affairs of the Nation

WHY WAS DE RÓISTE FRAMED?

53 YEARS is a long time to wait for justice if you were forced to ‘retire’ and had your life ruined for no apparent reason. Young Defence Forces officer Dónal... Read more »
Paul Ward

Affairs of the Nation

PAUL WARD’S €15M JUDGMENT

THE HIGH Court has just awarded a hefty €15m judgment against cinema magnate Paul Ward as a result of a legal action taken by his sisters over a share agreement... Read more »

Pillars of Society

Helen McEntee

Pillars of Society

PROFILE: HELEN MCENTEE

WAS THERE ever a politician that is so much a product and beneficiary of their own family as minister for justice, Helen McEntee; whose... Read more »

The Young Bloods

Danny O'Reilly

The Young Bloods

YOUNG BLOOD: DANNY O’REILLY

As he gears himself up for co-hosting RTÉ One’s new Friday night music show, The Main Stage, hirsute rocker Danny O’Reilly must be thanking... Read more »

Fit to Print?

Kevin Higgins

Fit to Print?

FIRST CASUALTY

THE CORDIAL and professional relationship enjoyed by poet Kevin Higgins and Irish Times books editor Martin Doyle is probably down to their shared, aesthetic admiration for the outsider in this... Read more »
Ivan Yates Nell McCafferty RTÉ Lord Laird Intro Matchmaking NewsBrands Martin McGuinness Dún Laoghaire Pat Leahy Cormac Lucey John Cooney Irish Journalism Awards Steve Aiken Anton Savage John Downing Lucinda Creighton Marina Sologub Eilis O'Hanlon Ian Kehoe Danny McConnell Sindo O'Connor Mediahuis Stephen Collins Book Justine McCarthy Rewriting the Troubles Lynn Ruane Sinn Féin

Fit to Print?

BILLY BINGHAM’S GESTURES

RECENT OBITUARIES to Northern Ireland soccer manager and player, Billy Bingham, in the Irish Times and Sunday Independent were positive, cheery even, as befits media obits. But softening references to... Read more »
Ivan Yates Nell McCafferty RTÉ Lord Laird Intro Matchmaking NewsBrands Martin McGuinness Dún Laoghaire Pat Leahy Cormac Lucey John Cooney Irish Journalism Awards Steve Aiken Anton Savage John Downing Lucinda Creighton Marina Sologub Eilis O'Hanlon Ian Kehoe Danny McConnell Sindo O'Connor Mediahuis Stephen Collins Book Justine McCarthy Rewriting the Troubles Lynn Ruane Sinn Féin

Fit to Print?

MI5’S CHINATOWN

IT HAPPENED 10 years ago but MI5, which takes an uncommonly keen interest in Irish affairs judging by the spooky stories in the Sunday Times Aawrish edition, has exposed another nefarious plot... Read more »

Last Refuge

Eamon Ryan

Last Refuge

DON’T MENTION THE WAR!

THE MYSTERY surrounding Green Party policy on defence, security and — once that most cherished Green principle of all — neutrality, had, until recently, led to an apparent vow of... Read more »
Philip Brennan

Last Refuge

FRIENDLY, PEACEFUL NATO

MANY PEOPLE will have heard of the splendidly titled ‘Nato Partnership for Peace’, which Ireland joined more than 20 years ago amid earnest assurances that it would not undermine Irish... Read more »
Clifford Lee

Last Refuge

DARRAGH O’BRIEN V. CLIFFORD LEE

THE FIRST signs of just how horrid supporters of current housing minister, Darragh O’Brien, were behaving towards Darragh’s ‘colleague’ and Fianna Fáil running mate, Lorraine Clifford Lee, came within months... Read more »

Hush Hush

Clare Daly

Hush Hush

SIEGE MENTALITY!

MANY IRISH politicians and commentators have been exercised by Boris Johnson’s cynical domestic ploy in transferring asylum seekers to Rwanda. Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill tweeted, “The London elite will send... Read more »

Bog Cuttings

Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

Buy & Sell Gardaí Gerard Gormley (35) of Carrowgavneen, Coolaney, Sligo appeared before Sligo District Court charged with using threatening and abusive behaviour toward gardaí. Judge Deirdre Gearty heard that,... Read more »

Fowl Emissions

John Paul Phelan

Fowl Emissions

POLITICS OF FOOD

Political tensions are nearing boiling point as FF and FG close ranks in supporting special pleading from the agri-industrial lobby in its demand for a free pass on climate action... Read more »
Luke Holland Climate Denial John Fagan Wolf Europe David Quinn Duncan Stewart Data Centre Carbon Emissions Conor Skehan Chris Hazzard

Fowl Emissions

THE IRISH NATURE

A new European study on ‘nature connectedness’ found that those with high levels of affinity to nature enjoy better mental health and tend to act in more environmentally friendly ways.... Read more »

Wigs on the Green

James Cahill Law Society

Wigs on the Green

LAW SOCIETY SPLIT

WHAT A fascinating Law Society council meeting its members can expect when it eventually meets to discuss a startling motion demanding that the 2020-21 president, James Cahill, be booted off... Read more »
Malcolm Byrne

Wigs on the Green

MALCOLM BYRNE IN LABOUR COURT FEUD

IT LOOKS like the board of Wexford primary school, Gaelscoil Moshíológ, which got trounced at the Labour Court recently for unfairly dismissing its founder and principal – amid some damning... Read more »

The Hot Air Brigade

Bono

The Hot Air Brigade

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Bono also chooses Ice Cream Sundae by Inhaler, a band fronted by his son Elijah, as one of the tracks he would take with him because it’s “a brilliant song”... Read more »

High Society

High Society

Aideen O'Byrne

High Society

AIDEEN’S SUNNY ASPECT

LEESON PARK is one of the more exclusive roads around Dublin 6, featuring handsome and spacious three-storey Victorian piles, a couple of which are... Read more »

High Society

IHT CHL The Lion in Winter Racing Royalty Le Brocquy City of Troy Fitzwilliam Square AIRO Dermot Smurfit Ballinacarrig Park Club Cosgrave Fitzpatrick Keith Jameson National Gallery Collection Marissa Carter VG Tom Higgins Neil Jordan Laura Bonner Paul Ward Variety Jones Dtat Eathos Sharon Keegan Angela Scanlon Desmond Canouan Bellair Estate Bobby Flay John O’Conor Portrait of Omai Eibhlín Ní Chonghaile Wedding NGI Board Rachel Flynn JP McMahon Ash Quinn Pamela Laird Abdullah Al Naboodah Boundless Ocean

High Society

JOHN GIVEN’S GAFF

FORMER GOODBODY and Philip Lee heavy hitter John Given has added another string to his bow, with KPMG hiring him to head its legal... Read more »

High Society

Cian O’Connor

High Society

CIAN’S FOUR STARS

Showjumping royalty Cian O’Connor has pulled out all the stops with his upgraded ‘state of the art’ equestrian centre in Co Meath. It certainly got a five-star review from Nicola... Read more »

Behind the Scenes

Catherine Martin

Behind the Scenes

WAITING AT IMMA

BRIAN MACCRAITH was highly critical of the delay by the minister for media etc, etc, Catherine Martin, in publishing the Future of Media Commission report. In another of her various... Read more »
Tailored Films Screen Ireland Perspectives DCCI Crescine Tarka Russell Lara Hickey Reality Check Sarah McInerney Irish Movies Paul Murray Arts Council Dublin Theatre Festival TWU Macdara Kelleher Richard Boyd Barrett DADC Cillian Murphy Terry McMahon Media Commission Ireland Kerlin Gallery Creative Ireland Section 481 Christine O’Donovan RTÉ Storyland NMI Board Vacancies IASCA Ossie Kilkenny RTÉ Original Programmes

Behind the Scenes

BRIAN MERRIMAN’S GOOD NEWS

CONTRATULATIONS ARE in order for Brian Merriman and his crew at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (IDGTF), who clearly have been receiving rather better reviews in the arts and... Read more »

Sport of Kings

Michael O'Callaghan

Sport of Kings

O’CALLAGHAN’S MIXED WEEK

CURRAGH TRAINER Michael O’Callaghan certainly endured the highs and lows of Royal Ascot week and despite the majority of his horses running below expectations, it still ended up a lucrative... Read more »
Joseph O'Brien's Horses

Sport of Kings

FAMILY FORTUNES

COULD THIS be the year when Aidan O’Brien loses his grip on the Irish trainers’ championship? For the past 15 years, O’Brien has monopolised the leading trainer award and on... Read more »
Ed Dunlop David Dunsdon Sarah Lynam Rebecca May Wayne Hassett Eoin O'Brien Michael Burke Aine O’Connor Ashroe Diamond Thomand O’Mara Peter Keatley Timmy Hyde Coolmore All About Sunday Colin Keane Ronan Whelan JP McManus Jessica Harrington Dundalk Racecourse Paul Hensey Irish National Hunt Horse-racing Doping Paddy Walsh Tom Kelly Suspension

Sport of Kings

KAVANAGH’S CURRAGH COVER PRICE

BRIAN KAVANAGH’S decision to charge €50 for a ticket into the Curragh on Derby Day last weekend was predictably not well received in the build-up to the track’s flagship day.... Read more »
Paul Kimmage

Sport of Kings

JOHN HALLEY’S DOG

COOLMORE VET John Halley’s embarrassing doping case involving the family dog – understandably raised plenty of eyebrows. While cynics may find the excuse surprising, it is also true that the... Read more »

Reviews

Ruth and Pen

Books

RUTH & PEN – EMILIE PINE

THIS DEBUT novel expands on many of the same well-worn themes aired in Emilie Pine’s Notes to Self (2018), a short collection of essays that read more like a frank... Read more »
Shane Daniel Byrne & Pamela Uba

Reviews

LOVE BITES – RTÉ PLAYER

A TEXTBOOK example of how RTÉ these days commissions shows, the origins of Love Bites go back to lockdown, when struggling comedian Shane Daniel Byrne began posting sketches on his Instagram... Read more »

Moneybags

Moneybags

Carl McCann

Moneybags

STRUGGLING BALMORAL LAND DIRECTORS ARE STILL SMILING

COMPLETING THE full integration of Total Produce into Dole Fruit to form the new enlarged group, Dole plc, in July 2021 was surely the... Read more »

Moneybags

Tony Smurfit

Moneybags

FRIENDLESS SMURFIT KAPPA SHARES SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERVALUED

TONY SMURFIT has failed to excite the market, despite Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) being perfectly positioned to take advantage of the boom in cardboard... Read more »

Brief Cases

John Collison

Brief Cases

JOHN COLLISON’S OFFSHORE ENTITY

A NEW company has been established following the acquisition from David Davies of Abbeyleix House last year by Stripe billionaire John Collison. He is not a director but is rather... Read more »
Catherine Clinch

Brief Cases

AN CAILÍN BOOM

INTERESTING TO see that the development money pendulum at the state film funding agency Screen Ireland (SI) has swung in favour of female talent. Of the 13 Irish feature film... Read more »
ZMG Cyril Murphy Newbridge College Peter Wilson Sporting Emporium Chris Wholey O'Kane God’s Creatures Film Tax Relief Anne Rossi Desmond Live Nation ESCADIA LTD Al Porter Comeback Gordon Elliott Clayton Love Ivan Wilde hot-water-brigade Parnells GAA Lawsuit

Brief Cases

DUBLIN AIRPORT’S MARQUEE PLAYERS

WITH CHAOS still the order of the day for air passengers passing through Dublin Airport, at least someone is making a few bob out of the turbulence. In the immediate... Read more »
Sean Doyle

Brief Cases

SEÁN DOYLE’S ENTERTAINMENT PROBLEM

BAD NEWS for expansive Wexford businessman Seán Doyle, whose hospitality company has just been hit with a judgment from South Dublin County Council for €83,000. This is actually the third... Read more »
Nicola Mitchell

Brief Cases

NICOLA MITCHELL’S BRAVERY

PESTICIDES QUEEN Nicola Mitchell, the 2020 EY entrepreneur of the year, who, apparently, is considering floating her Life Scientific company on the Dublin stock market, was considered “brave beyond belief”... Read more »