Phil Hogan
CONGRATULATIONS TO former EU commissioner and current unofficial advisor to Simon Harris, Phil Hogan, who landed an honorary doctorate in science from University College Dublin. Goldhawk was eager to read the citation for the controversial lobbyist, who was forced to step down from his EU gig after the controversy that arose when Hogan was found to have taken a Dominic Cummings-type tour of Kildare shortly after he attended that infamous Oireachtas golf dinner in Clifden in 2020. Among those who hung him out to dry were Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney, neither now senior figures in FG.
Oddly, the press releases on UCD’s website do not include anything trumpeting Dr Phil’s award, so Goldhawk asked for some detail. Alas, there was no explanation for Hogan’s hon doc in the material provided – maybe it is related to Phil’s hugely lucrative lobbying operation in Brussels?
This operates under Triton Advisory, a company registered in Ireland, where Hogan is not a director (the two in situ are his sister, Joan Teehan, and his London-based son, Edward ) but he does hold 100% of the shares.
The press release that was made available did at least include some words of wisdom from Phil Hogan, who expounded on “the profound wisdom of local communities” and quoted Tip O’Neill and Arthur Miller. He also took a swipe at the far right, stating that “identity is not threatened by newcomers but, rather, enhanced by embracing them”.
Then it was back home to Brussels to start earning more moolah.
