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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

PAT MOLLOY’S SUCCESSOR

Date: November 5, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

STILL NO sign of the 2018 accounts at Dublin’s Hugh Lane, where there is finally to be a change at the top, with ex-banker Pat Molloy preparing to step down after 22 years. The constitution allows the chairman to serve “indefinitely” and Molloy has almost achieved that feat, having been on the board since his… Read more »

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Una Mullally

ALAN KELLY REINVENTS HIMSELF

Date: November 5, 2020 - Last Refuge

LABOUR LEADER Alan Kelly and his handlers have been busy with a relentless campaign to replace AK-47’s image with a brand new persona since he took the party leadership. Gone is the scary megalomaniac, drunk with the faintest hint of power – a personality trait that women in particular found unpalatable. Now a new man… Read more »

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Vol. 38 No. 22

Date: November 5, 2020 -

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SIMONE ROCHA’S PEARLS

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

FASHION DESIGNER Simone Rocha recently launched her Spring 2021 ready-to-wear collection ‘in the flesh’, eschewing the online Zoom-type events that are increasingly familiar. Under pandemic protocols, the designer’s 10 models stood at least two metres apart within the large Hauser & Wirth gallery on Savile Row and fashion hacks had their temperature checked on the… Read more »

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Paddy Cosgrave

DOCTORS DIFFER

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE LIST of characters in Leo Varadkar’s ‘confidential’ leak story includes the tánaiste himself, web summit guru Paddy Cosgrave, GP union head Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail and medical professional Chay Bowes. But the unconscious instigator of the controversy that threatened to destabilise the government is the former chief executive of the National Association of General… Read more »

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Leo Varadkar

DR VARADKAR’S DILEMMA

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

TÁNAISTE DR Leo Varadkar’s medical interactions have seen him don scrubs and present as Joseph Lister in the first phase of Covid-19 last April and, more recently, as a Machiavellian meddler in medical politics. Varadkar also claimed in an Irish Times article in 2018 to have had the benefit of experience as a “hospital doctor,… Read more »

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Nichola Mallon

SDLP FRACKING DILEMMA

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

NORTHERN CONTROVERSIES only attract media attention if they concern Sinn Féin, which might help to explain why the SDLP’s Nichola Mallon, Northern Ireland’s infrastructure minister, has escaped mainstream media criticism over a fracking issue. Fracking is a process regarded as so dangerous to human health and the environment that it is banned in several countries,… Read more »

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Declan Kelly

DECLAN KELLY’S PREDICTIONS

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

NO DOUBT corporate strategist extraordinaire Declan Kelly was keeping a close eye on the US election results this week given his company’s strong links to the Democrats. Closer to home, the Irish subsidiary of Teneo has hit some unexpected turbulence. Meanwhile a company acquired at the start of this year is being wound up. In… Read more »

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Siún Ní Raghallaigh

OOPS! THEY’VE DONE IT AGAIN

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

AN IRISH animated film topped the UK box office charts last month, offering another potential big pay day for Siún Ní Raghallaigh and Moe Honan’s Galway-based animation company, Moetion Films. Unfortunately, there is nothing in this for the Irish taxpayer, who may be feeling a little shortchanged. The Guardian review of Two By Two: Overboard (a sequel… Read more »

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Pat Finucane

‘BEATING’ THE IRA

Date: November 5, 2020 - Hush Hush

Successive governments in the Irish republic bear the brunt of responsibility for the IRA’s ‘insurgency’. That’s one of the core accusations from former Special Branch (SB) officer William Matchett, whose book on SB’s war against the IRA has been trumpeted recently as the best unionist… Read more »

HushHush-def

JON BOUTCHER’S BLUSHES

Date: November 5, 2020 - Hush Hush

The ‘Stakeknife’ spy charade was exposed to further ridicule last week when state prosecutors ruled there is no hard evidence that Fred Scappaticci is in fact “the agent called Stakeknife”. Former IRA man Scappaticci did have links with the security forces in the ’80s and ’90s, but he was not Stakeknife. Operation Kenova’s Jon Boutcher… Read more »

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Rachel Allen

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: November 5, 2020 - The Hot Air Brigade

If you have any leftover zabaglione, try folding into it chunks of broken meringue and crushed berries for an Italian take on the classic Eton Mess. Rachel Allen, Sunday Independent’s Living, submitted by reader Clothes are not essential. Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Business, Damien English on RTÉ’s Prime Time I have… Read more »

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Lord Bew

CENTENARY HALF CELEBRATION

Date: November 5, 2020 - Northwind

The budget for celebrating the north’s centenary is due to be revealed at the end of the month. Northern Ireland Office (NIO) sources suggest several million pounds will be earmarked for local groups and councils to organise events across the north. The NIO suggests it’s part of the ‘Shared History Fund’ mentioned in January’s ‘New… Read more »

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Ursula von der Leyen

CAP SELL-OUT

Date: November 5, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

“Today the European Parliament will vote on how we produce our food for the next seven years,” tweeted Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan. “The decisions MEPs make will intrinsically impact on our very future on this planet. Yet still it will receive less attention from our media than the third round FA Cup draw.” And so it… Read more »

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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

VEGGIE DISTRACTION

Date: November 5, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

Veggie discs for dinner, anyone? Vegan tubes for lunch? These are the names we almost got for meat-free burgers and sausages, in an anti-vegetarian proposal cooked up by Europe’s meat industry. The ploy failed when MEPs voted to reject the proposed ban on using the words ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’ for plant-based products. They did not… Read more »

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Elisha McCallion

GOVERNMENT SEANAD PACT

Date: November 5, 2020 - Last Refuge

SINN FÉIN senator Elisha McCallion’s resignation from the Seanad has done both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil a big favour, producing a political scenario beyond irony for all political parties concerned, even the Greens. Following Michael D’Arcy’s recent resignation from the Seanad, Taoiseach Micheál Martin – he who has made such generous gestures to unionists… Read more »

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Eamon Ryan

RYAN’S VICTORY

Date: November 5, 2020 - Last Refuge

THE SURPRISING thing about the recent exodus of some of the more forceful radicals in the Green Party is that leader Eamon Ryan came within a few dozen votes of losing the leadership to the party’s left-of-centre challenger, Catherine Martin, in July. At the same time, five of the 12 Green TDs can be described… Read more »

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Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

BLUESHIRT ORDER

Date: November 5, 2020 - Last Refuge

FINE GAEL’S Dún Laoghaire constituency chairman, Edward Kennedy, may have delivered the last of his portentous letters to members, depending on the imminent result of the tight election for chair between him and membership secretary Annette Kent. Not all Kingstown Blueshirts appreciate Kennedy’s style and a resentful few privately mock his efforts to maintain standards… Read more »

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Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: November 5, 2020 - Bog Cuttings

‘WANKERS!’ A man who was abusive towards gardaí has been given the chance to have his case struck out if he makes a donation to the Garda Benevolent Fund. Terry Trindler (29) of St Benan’s Villas, Laytown, was observed by gardaí in Stockwell Lane, in the early hours of the morning, shouting at members of… Read more »

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John Burns

NEW EDITOR FOR ‘ST’

Date: November 5, 2020 - Fit to Print?

Frank Fitzgibbon’s resignation as editor of the Aawrish edition of the Sunday Times leaves the gate open for John Burns, the man who has been aching to succeed Fitzgibbon for many years, having joined at its inception 27 years ago along with just one other journalist, the late Alan Ruddock. Burns is associate editor and… Read more »

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Micheál Martin

MARTIN’S ‘SHARED’ HISTORY

Date: November 5, 2020 - Fit to Print?

AN TAOISEACH Micheál Martin developed his shared-island theme with the Guardian last week in an exercise in historic revisionism that will have fazed even Eoghan Harris and Charlie BlackandTanagain. With commendable reserve, today’s modern Irish leader praised the generosity of the Duke of Devonshire – Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish, to give him his full moniker… Read more »

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Lily-Rose Depp

FUNDING LILY-ROSE DEPP

Date: November 5, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

THERE’S LITTLE doubt Irish film and television producers are having a bad year, but at least they (and their international cast members) continue to draw succour from the public purse. The section 481 tax credit is the biggest source of taxpayer cash for Irish film and TV luvvies and, so far this year, 77 productions… Read more »

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In Bed with the Blueshirts

IN BED WITH THE BLUESHIRTS SHANE ROSS (ATLANTIC BOOKS)

Date: November 5, 2020 - BooksReviews

POLITICAL REMINISCENCES in Ireland are invariably boring, free of interesting information and full of self-justification presented with no context (or purpose). But this book is different. It actually tells you what happened – from Shane Ross’s point of view of course. The mouthy former minister helpfully admits at the start that he has a monstrous… Read more »

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Consuelo O’Connor

VIP’S RED INK

Date: November 5, 2020 - High Society

THERE IS no end to the flow of stories about Irish ‘celebrities’ that feature in VIP magazine (this week: ‘Darren Kennedy talks cocktail making in lockdown’), but it looks like this is an increasingly expensive business for publisher Michael O’Doherty, who has previous experience of building up losses. A few years back, MOD was operating… Read more »

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Ozzie Kheir

OZZIE KHEIR’S COOLMORE COUP

Date: November 5, 2020 - High Society

IT’S NOT everyday that John Magnier’s Coolmore operation gets its eye wiped, but flash Australian racehorse owner Aziz ‘Ozzie’ Kheir earned a major pay day at the expense of the Irish lads. Melbourne moneybags Kheir has developed a reputation for being drawn to the bright lights and the son of Lebanese immigrants offers quite the… Read more »

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Johnny Murtagh

JOHNNY MURTAGH’S SECOND CHANCE

Date: November 5, 2020 - Sport of Kings

ON THE back of his best ever year as a trainer, Johnny Murtagh received another major boost with the news that he is set to join Dermot Weld and Michael Halford on the roster of Aga Khan trainers in Ireland. Murtagh has a long history with the Aga Khan and rode over a dozen Group… Read more »

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Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

NO MERCY FROM IHRB

Date: November 5, 2020 - Sport of Kings

DENIS EGAN’S Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) wielded its axe in no uncertain terms recently when disciplining little-known trainer Alan Wells. The handler, who appears never to have trained a winner (at least not in the last six years) got landed with a €3,000 fine under the ‘non-trier’ Rule 212a after his charge, Eileens Boy,… Read more »

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Michael Cawley

WHEN WILL HOSTELWORLD SHARES HIT BOTTOM?

Date: November 5, 2020 - Moneybags

IN LATE 2015, the hostel-focused online booking platform Hostelworld was floated off in Dublin at €2.70 a share, raising €184m in fresh equity. Since then, the business has had a troubled management history, but now finds itself in real trouble due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Had it not raised €15m in June this year through… Read more »

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Michael Carvill

WHAT IS MICK CARVILL’S NEXT MOVE?

Date: November 5, 2020 - Moneybags

MICK CARVILL has been running Kenmare Resources for 36 years, having being drafted in as CEO by his father, Charlie. He survived early setbacks – all focused on northern Mozambique, where Carvill developed the costly Ancuabe graphite mine that was closed down in 1999 – before focusing instead on developing the massive $1bn Moma titanium… Read more »

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Pat Byrne

PAT BYRNE’S RUCKING

Date: November 5, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

NICK WEBB, the Sunday Times business columnist, spotted something of a pattern amid all the gloom of Ireland’s depressing defeat in Paris last week. Two of the new faces on the pitch were the sons of respectable Irish business figures, he pointed out. Hugo Keenan, who scored an almost-hat-trick in the previous game against Italy,… Read more »

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Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

FAST EDDIE’S COURT DATE

Date: November 5, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

SOUTH DUBLIN car dealer and high-profile rally enthusiast Eddie Peterson could be running out of track, with Wicklow County Council having initiated legal action over what it describes as unauthorised development taking place on the edge of picturesque Enniskerry village. Peterson is the principal in the established Petersons Cars business on Tivoli Road in Dún… Read more »

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Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

KIERAN GANNON’S LATEST SETBACK

Date: November 5, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

MORE BAD news for Kieran Gannon, who has once again struck out on a planning application for his ambitious plans for the old Smurfit printworks in Glasnevin. It’s been a long road for Gannon, which goes back to 2014 when he applied for permission for 147 homes, made up of 66 houses, 14 duplexes and… Read more »

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Dermot Cox

DERMOT COX’S BARGAIN

Date: November 5, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

WITH THE examinership of Vernon Foods wholesale fruit operation completed, it looks like the new controlling shareholder, retail king Dermot Cox, may have got a pretty good deal. The long-established Dublin family fruit-and-veg business was headed up by Ronan Sullivan of Donnybrook, D4. It will be recalled (see The Phoenix 28/2/20) that the High Court… Read more »

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Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

RICHARD SPENCE’S DIGITAL CLINIC

Date: November 5, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

A COMPANY called Digex Ltd has surfaced with one Richard Spence as a director. He previously made his mark with Beutifi, the beauty business technology outfit that was to “revolutionise” the salon booking experience. The plan was to invade Europe but, instead, the company collapsed into liquidation last year. Spence is joined by John Donnelly… Read more »

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Seamus Woulfe

CRYING WOULFE

Date: October 22, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE JUDICIARY’S ineffectual attempt to deal with their esteemed new Supreme Court member, Seamus Woulfe, following his double bogey on the 19th hole at Clifden has itself run into the rough. There is simply no legal mechanism whereby the board of the Judicial Council can force Woulfe to do what they want him to do,… Read more »

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Michael McDowell

MCDOWELL’S SILENCE

Date: October 22, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE INFORMATIVE and provocative columns in the Irish Times by Senator Michael McDowell indicate a man who has rarely shied away from confrontation with vested interests and powerful lobby groups. Readers can recognise the senator’s pluck in his fight against the big beasts in Irish society by his targets. Like Covid-19 medical watchdogs and the… Read more »

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