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September 09 - September 22, 2022
Affairs of the Nation
UKRAINIAN SILVER LINING
WITH AROUND 50,000 Ukrainian refugees now in Ireland, accommodating them has obviously caused some headaches. What is interesting, however, is that millions of euro continues to be allocated to some... Read more »
KENNEL CLUB’S NEXT DOGFIGHT
FRIDAY NIGHT sees the latest monthly gathering of Irish Kennel Club (IKC) members, many of whom continue to fear a sale of the National Show Centre to moneybags Noel Smyth.... Read more »
GELDOF’S ‘TENANT’
WHEN MOTORMOUTH, and landlord, Bob Geldof paid a flying visit to Ireland this summer to visit Skibbereen and recall famine atrocities, he presumably checked in on some of his property... Read more »
Sponsored Content
Ireland’s Economic Moment: Ibec Calls for Bold Action Ahead of Election
IBEC, the group representing Irish businesses, believes that Ireland’s current economic strength offers a generational opportunity for the next government to address barriers to growth and tackle areas that... Read more »
MI6 FIGHT BORIS RETURN
BORIS JOHNSON ended his premiership with a campaign for his political rehabilitation and return via a ‘farewell tour’, showcasing his achievements to the Tory faithful. Does he hope for a... Read more »
ED GUINEY’S MOVIE MARATHONS
IT MAY have come as something of a surprise that the biggest movie hit of the season by far, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick, opened at the two ‘arthouse’ cinemas... Read more »
VARADKAR’S NORTHERN PLOT
WHILE Taoiseach Micheál Martin mulls over his chances of surviving as Fianna Fáil leader until the next election, his replacement as leader of the country in December, Leo Varadkar, is... Read more »
‘IRISH TIMES’ EDITORIAL CONTEST
THE RACE to become the new editor at the Irish Times will be more complex, political even, than normal with the ascendancy of the commercial side of the house –... Read more »
SIMON COVENEY’S TRAINING MISSION
GOLDHAWK BOWS to the military genius and alacrity displayed by defence personnel recently when the question of Irish involvement in an EU training mission was leaked to the Irish Times.... Read more »
FACTS ON THE GROUND
AS PHOENIX readers will know, Ireland’s co-operation with Nato has deepened in recent years. The Defence Forces involvement in Nato’s operational capability concept (OCC) since 2016 is possibly the most... Read more »
ZERO CRED
As the climate crisis deepens, it is heartening to see corporate Ireland respond to the emergency. Take the new group, The Alliance for Zero Carbon Heating (TAZCH), which is proposing... Read more »
Pillars of Society
PROFILE: EAMON MARTIN
AGED 61 with already a decade of donning the purple behind him and 15 years to go before his retirement in 2037, Eamon Martin... Read more »
The Young Bloods
YOUNG BLOOD: AIMEE CONNOLLY
AT 29, cosmetics queen Aimee Connolly has already achieved a significant level of success, with her Sculpted By Aimee brand generating a striking looking... Read more »
Protecting Your Wealth with Merrion Gold
Used to store value and as currency for thousands of years, gold has consistently provided long-term returns for investors looking to protect their wealth. In recent years, many have... Read more »
Fit to Print?
RTÉ BOYCOTTS DANA
THE CRASS behaviour by RTÉ in failing to invite Dana to participate in the RTÉ Concert Orchestra celebration of Eurovision is still confounding those concerned. Dana was the first and... Read more »
LYNN RUANE’S PARTY
THE SUNDAY TIMES’ Atticus column recently published a sniffy piece about “Sinn Féin politician” Senator Lynn Ruane, who failed in her complaint to the Press Ombudsman over comments made about... Read more »
REVISIONIST FEUD
THE FEUD between two media academics and politicos continues at TCD next week when historian Eve Morrison gives a lecture about the November 1920 Kilmichael ambush about which, she claims,... Read more »
Last Refuge
CALLEARY BACK AT COURT
THE UNASSUMING if still ambitious figure of ex-minister Dara Calleary can be seen stalking the corridors of power again, albeit as a mere junior minister. Some believe – or have... Read more »
DALY AND WALLACE TARGETED
MEPS CLARE Daly and Mick Wallace continue to be singled out for special treatment by the media as well as Government politicians. The Irish Mail on Sunday (reflecting its London-based... Read more »
LEO TO SWITCH CONSTITUENCY?
SPECULATION SURROUNDS the personal intentions of Leo Varadkar at the next general election and in particular whether he will leave Dublin West for southside constituency Dublin Bay South (DBS). This... Read more »
PASCHAL DONOHOE’S VIRTUE SIGNALLING
BENEATH THE Blueshirts bonding bonhomie at their Kilkenny think-in this weekend, there will undoubtedly lurk some malicious thoughts and no small resentment at various leadership personalities. Chief among these is... Read more »
Hush Hush
IRISH MILITARY INDUSTRIAL PLAN?
ALONG WITH the huge increase in defence funding ‘agreed’ by the Government (a planned rise from €1.1bn to €1.9bn by 2028), there has been a significant push to develop an... Read more »
Bog Cuttings
BOG CUTTINGS
‘Who’s Going To Ride Me?’ A 33-YEAR-OLD TV production graduate appeared before Dundalk District Court charged with public intoxication and being threatening and abusive towards gardaí, who had received reports... Read more »
Fowl Emissions
POISONOUS DEBATE
THE IRISH agricultural sector only recently signed up to challenging 25% cuts in overall emissions by 2030. Since the overwhelming bulk of these emissions come from ruminant livestock, you might... Read more »
DAMIEN O’REILLY’S EMISSIONS
ALSO CONCERNED about the tenor of the agri debate is Damien O’Reilly, presenter of Countrywide on RTÉ and columnist with the Irish Farmers Journal, sponsor of his radio show. In... Read more »
The Hot Air Brigade
THE HOT AIR BRIGADE
When my son was 2, I heard him mumbling to himself as he was going to sleep, ‘Mikhail Gorbachev’. It sounded like a promise that the world he would grow... Read more »
High Society
BRENDAN McCABE’S PRICEY PADDOCK
THE LATEST ‘super-prime’ property to come on the market is the impressive Paddock Wood pile on Killiney Hill Road, famously formerly owned by the hapless one-time bankrupt telecoms whizz John... Read more »
PAMELA LAIRD’S MOXIE
PAMELA LAIRD, a former star of both the Irish version of Dragon’s Den and Alan Sugar’s version of The Apprentice, is rarely far from the headlines. For the last few... Read more »
PATRICK GUINNESS’S AQUACULTURE
INTERESTING TO see that an aquaculture company called A Harvest Industry Ltd (AHI) has gone into liquidation. AHI was incorporated in December 2016 and the most surprising player here turned... Read more »
Innovating Wellness with Cutting-Edge Technology
Eden One, Dublin’s premier health club and spa located on Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, is an elite destination redefining wellness. It seamlessly integrates cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art equipment, and meticulously curated... Read more »
Behind the Scenes
MARTIN’S TIMELY GRANT
IT TURNS out that the arts department was particularly eager to support Brian Merriman’s International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (IDGTF) after the Arts Council (AC) pulled the plug. The timing... Read more »
DEE FORBES’S PLEADINGS
THE INTRO to RTÉ’s autumn season launch is familiar to perusers of press releases from assorted Irish film festivals, Screen Ireland, IFTA and film industry organisations: “This upcoming season from... Read more »
Sport of Kings
COAKLEY COMES A CROPPER
YOUNG IRISH jockey Ross Coakley’s career has been on an upward curve since he relocated to England last year but the rider’s momentum has been severely halted by a particularly... Read more »
MURPHY’S LAW
IT HAS been reported that Cork trainer John Joseph Murphy was recently fined €4,000 by the referrals committee of Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (chaired by Tony Hunt) after one of... Read more »
RYAN OUT OF AMO
IT HAS been an eventful week for Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing. The increasingly familiar ownership group, run by the UK-based football investor, has suffered from a case of second album... Read more »
RYAN McELLIGOTT’S NEW JOB?
AFTER 10 years as head of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA), Michael Grassick is set to dismount. Although there has been no official announcement yet, Goldhawk understands that Ryan... Read more »
Reviews
NORTH SEA CONNECTION – RTÉ ONE
FOR THOSE who think RTÉ’s drama output is a bit of a cod, it’s perhaps fitting that the national broadcaster’s new Sunday night series is a fishing thriller. Set in... Read more »
Books|Reviews
FACTORY GIRLS – MICHELLE GALLEN
THE CASTLEDERG author’s debut novel Big Girl, Small Town (2020) features a 27-year-old chip-shop worker trapped in a Co Tyrone backwater during the 1970s. It offers an ominously comic perspective... Read more »
Moneybags
CLONTARF ENERGY’S TINY VALUATION COULD PROVE TEMPTING
LAST MONTH there was bad news for shareholders in Clontarf Energy. The Australian gas well, Sasanof-1, in which the company has a 10% stake was drilled 100 miles offshore the... Read more »
COLIN HUNT V FRANCESCA MCDONAGH
AT AIB, Colin Hunt reversed his attempt to withdraw cash facilities from 70 branches nationwide after getting a right hammering from commentators and politicians. The fallout may have surprised him,... Read more »
Gold Surges to New Heights: Why Now is the Time to Invest
“PRICE OF gold bar hits $1m for the first time!” This was one of the many striking headlines last month, soon followed by “A gold bar is now worth... Read more »
The Hot Water Brigade
POWERSCOURT POWER PLAY
THE BATTLE of the super-rich landowners of Wicklow over staff quarters on the grounds of American billionaire John Malone’s Powerscourt Hotel has now escalated to An Bord Pleanála, which will... Read more »
DUBLIN PARNELLS’ OWN GOAL
LOOKS LIKE the long-established Parnells GAA club in Coolock, D5, might have scored an own goal following a costly lawsuit. Certainly, someone took their eye off the ball to allow... Read more »
RODERIC O’GORMAN’S WAR EFFORT
ELSEWHERE IN this issue (see p3) Goldhawk examines the awarding of contracts to accommodation providers, particularly hotel owners in relation to the arrival here of 50,000 refugees from Ukraine. There... Read more »
GRAEME DE RENZY’S $16M HEADACHE
GOLDHAWK WAS not surprised to learn that his old friend, Graeme de Renzy, is in another spot of bother, this time on foot of a consent order he signed relating... Read more »
Lifeline Ambulance Service Leading in Patient Care
Lifeline Ambulance Service holds the position of the second-largest ambulance provider in the state. Established in 1998 by CEO David Hall, Lifeline operates from 11 different bases nationwide, with... Read more »
Popular Stories
DISCOUNT SPECIAL IN FOXROCK
GOLDHAWK SPIES that the sale of a Brighton Road pile called Tresillian ...
CATHERINE MARTIN’S ‘NUANCE’
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MAGNIER’S RACING ROYALTY
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JENNY KEANE’S BOTTOM LINE
GOLDHAWK’S FAVOURITE ‘holistic sex educator’, Jenny Keane, shows no sign of slowing ...
ROSEMARY COLEMAN’S SKINCARE EDIT
LAST WEEK RTÉ’s Prime Time caused a bit of a stir when ...
MICHAEL WALL’S BAD REVIEW
ONE ASPECT of Crowe-Ireland’s review of the corporate governance farce at the ...
DUKE DELIVERS
POPULAR CURRAGH trainer Brendan Duke returned from the wilderness earlier this month ...
PADDY LOU’S LOLLY
EARLIER this month (see The Phoenix 9/8/24), when no 2024 quarterly ...
GETTING UP FOR DOWN UNDER
RICH RICCI’S rarely seen bonce got an outing at York when the ...
BREEZE DOWNS?
BRENDAN ‘BLARNEY’ Holland of Grove Stud – the newly elected chairman of ...