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Joe Biden

BIDEN AND IRISH NEUTRALITY

Date: November 19, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

AS VICTORY for Joe Biden’s US presidential campaign inched closer, the Irish Times’s EU warriors became more exercised about the consequences for what is quaintly called “EU security”. On the one hand, warned one hack, Nato HQ and various EU governments would be pleased, as Biden could be relied on to be more assertive in… Read more »

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Nicola Mitchell

UNICORNS’ PROFITS

Date: November 19, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

LAST YEAR the Dáil declared a biodiversity emergency and, in recent months, the EU’s Farm To Fork strategy set out ambitious targets to cut the use of environmental poisons like chemical pesticides. Tough times, in other words, to be in the pesticide business right now. However, rather than being seen as pariahs in a sunset… Read more »

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Theresa May

IRELAND’S SPYCOPS

Date: November 19, 2020 - Hush Hush

A British spy in the Real IRA, Dennis McFadden, is alleged to have a ‘love child’ with a woman from Donegal, whom he is said to have left shortly before the birth of the child. On settling in Belfast, he then had a child with a new partner, who seems to have left Belfast at… Read more »

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Arlene Foster

COVID SAVES EXECUTIVE

Date: November 19, 2020 - Northwind

Former BBC journalist and veteran commentator Brian Rowan recently quoted a senior unionist who said, “The executive is on sticky ground. If we didn’t have Covid, it wouldn’t last.” That was before the behaviour of DUP executive ministers in the second week of November, when they twice used a blocking device – in effect a… Read more »

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Shane O'Callaghan

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S CORK REBELS

Date: November 19, 2020 - Last Refuge

RTÉ AND its Drivetime host, Sarah McInerney, managed last week to transform a most interesting story about Fianna Fáil abandoning its republican traditions – in rebel Cork, of all places – into a feminist grievance. An Taoiseach and party leader, Micheál Martin, will be especially grateful to Drivetime as his brother, Cllr Sean Martin, and… Read more »

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Peter Vandermeersch

INM’S MIXED RESULTS

Date: November 19, 2020 - Fit to Print?

A CHEERFUL report in the Irish Independent last week gave figures from the annual results of Independent News & Media Group Ltd, the holding company for various titles now owned by Belgian-based Mediahuis. The story’s headline stated that INM had incurred €2.5m costs relating to its sale to Mediahuis, but the article said INM’s “fair… Read more »

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Wild Mountain Thyme

WILD MOUNTAIN JAM

Date: November 19, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

THE NATIONAL public broadcaster as well as the rest of the media (social and otherwise) got their knickers in a twist over Emily Blunt and Christopher Walken’s excruciating Oirish accents in the trailer for John Patrick Shanley’s upcoming film, Wild Mountain Thyme, but they neglected to follow the money. It turns out that the people… Read more »

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Laura Burlington

LISMORE CASTLE’S ARISTOCRATS

Date: November 19, 2020 - High Society

NICE TO see the vaunted Book of Lismore returning home. The priceless medieval manuscript has been donated to UCC and the good news is that there appears to be no tax wheeze associated with the transaction, which makes a nice change. The university told Goldhawk it is “not aware of any potential tax benefits arising… Read more »

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Colin Keane

KEANE’S AMERICAN DREAM

Date: November 19, 2020 - Sport of Kings

THIS YEAR’S Breeders’ Cup, held at Keeneland racetrack in Kentucky, was a mighty success for Irish trainers and jockeys, none more so than Colin Keane, who was also crowned Irish Champion jockey the same day. Keane had made the trip to Kentucky to partner the Ger Lyons-trained Siskin and, while things did not go his… Read more »

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Annual 2020

Date: November 19, 2020 -

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Jim Farrell

FARRELL’S FALL

Date: November 19, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

GOLDHAWK’S OLD friend, security specialist Jim Farrell, has just been adjudged a bankrupt in relation to a row over his former company. Business Mobile Security Services (BMSS) may have a dull name, although the company was anything but and will be well known to fans of Goldhawk thanks to its ownership of Integrated Risk Management… Read more »

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Seán Ó Fearghaíl

LONDON CALLING

Date: November 19, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

CONGRATS TO the chaps in News UK, London head Office of the Sunday Times – which dictates the tone and tenor of its aawrish edition – for perhaps the most ironic headline and story in modern Irish publishing. “Ceann Comhairle accused of ‘meddling’ on China’s behalf”, screamed a headline from the Irish ST’s crime writer,… Read more »

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Emily Blunt

WILD MOUNTAIN MEN

Date: November 19, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

WITH ALL the fuss over the trailer for Wild Mountain Thyme, it is interesting to note that the taxpayer has put a fair few bob towards the film that features bad accents and big names like Emily Blunt (see p15). One of the private companies that has backed it is called CFF Film Fund and… Read more »

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Martina Fitzgerald

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: November 19, 2020 - The Hot Air Brigade

I did a major declutter of my ‘Dulux colour’ coats – the pinks, the oranges, the reds, which I only wore for TV. I gave them all to a charity shop. Then I ordered lots of minimalist black. That’s when I knew I was moving on. Martina Fitzgerald on life after RTÉ, Sunday Independent Like… Read more »

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Ivana Bacik

IVANA TRIES AGAIN

Date: November 19, 2020 - Last Refuge

LABOUR SENATOR Ivana Bacik has let it be known to her fans in Dublin Bay South (DBS) that she will – for the fourth time – be looking to stand for the Dáil. This brings the word ‘indefatigable’ to a new level, especially given what the then hubris-ridden party leadership did to Ivana the last… Read more »

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Majella Gallagher

WOMAN MD FOR ‘IRISH TIMES’?

Date: November 19, 2020 - Fit to Print?

WOMEN JOURNALISTS at the Irish Times will surely be pleased should yet another woman take the post of managing director now that Liam Kavanagh is stepping down (Kavanagh succeeded Maeve Donovan as MD 10 years ago). More recently, IT female journalists launched a campaign against the allegedly macho, locker-room behaviour of senior men at the… Read more »

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Diageo Dana An Garda Síochána IT Trust No Stone Unturned Irish Times Black Friday Vicky Conway

STEPHEN COLLINS’S OMISSION

Date: November 19, 2020 - Fit to Print?

A MOST arresting headline on the recent weekly column of former Irish Times political editor Stephen Collins declared, “It’s worth recalling defining moment in Irish democracy”. Before he even identified this momentous event, Collins compared and contrasted it to the dangerous and threatening behaviour of defeated US president Donald Trump. Apparently, the behaviour of Cumann… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

LEO’S NEXT CHAIR

Date: November 19, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

ONE OF the next appointments to be made by Leo Varadkar in his role as enterprise minister is the chair of the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, where Pennys matriarch Breege O’Donoghue is stepping down after four years. The new chair will inherit an organisation and sector that has been hugely affected by Covid-19… Read more »

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SNOW - JOHN BANVILLE (FABER)

SNOW – JOHN BANVILLE (FABER)

Date: November 19, 2020 - BooksReviews

OVER RECENT years, John Banville has written a relatively commercially successful series of hard-boiled noir thrillers under the name of Benjamin Black. This latest crime novel, however – the first to be published under his own name – turns out to be a conventional mystery story, with a protagonist lifted from the author’s other 2020… Read more »

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Consuelo O’Connor

THE KRAUSE FAMILY FRIEND

Date: November 19, 2020 - High Society

FANS OF Goldhawk will be familiar with Mexican-English millionaire Allen de Jesus Sangines Krause (see The Phoenix 25/8/17), who is the squire of Killua Castle in Co Westmeath, where he lives much of the year with his glamorous wife, Loreana. The couple are currently flavour of the month in Spain. Back in 2017, a video… Read more »

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Pat McDonagh

PAT’S PILE

Date: November 19, 2020 - High Society

A SALE price has been recorded in the Property Price Register of the Co Meath mansion owned by software moneybags Pat McDonagh and it looks like he has come close to his eye-watering asking price. Carbalton Hall, outside Tara, was put on the market last year with a price tag of a cool €11m, but… Read more »

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Mark Brosnan

BOYLESPORTS UNSADDLED

Date: November 19, 2020 - Sport of Kings

BOYLESPORTS HAS received a sharp rap on the knuckles from the Gambling Commission in the shape of a £2.8m fine after a series of money-laundering failures had been highlighted by the regulator. This is the second Irish-linked operation to encounter this heavy going. The Boylesports investigation exposed serious rule breaches aimed at preventing money-laundering activities… Read more »

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Gorden Elliott

GORDON ELLIOT’S CROCODILE

Date: November 19, 2020 - Sport of Kings

GORDON ELLIOTT has teamed up with Eddie O’Leary to very lucrative effect this year with a couple of young point-to-point horses. Elliott has unleashed two very promising four-year-old point-to-point winners in recent weeks, which both carried the silks of the Crocodile Pockets Syndicate, a group of investors made up, among others, of Elliott and O’Leary…. Read more »

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James McIlvenna

JAMES MCILVENNA’S DOG DAY

Date: November 19, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

THERE’S BEEN plenty of good press for ambitious dog treat inventor James McIlvenna lately, but he is facing a challenging year. Just last week, the Indo wrote in glowing terms about how he had been inspired to set up his own range of dog toys after his pet labrador ate his wedding album. (Awwwww!) That… Read more »

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Aldi logo

PAUL LANNEY’S APPEAL

Date: November 19, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

These are difficult times for grocer Paul Lanney, who runs a SuperValu in his shopping centre in the county Louth town of Ardee. With hefty accumulated losses, he is now facing down a major competitor. The Lanneys have been running the business in the town since 1985 and they expanded it in 2013, at significant… Read more »

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Tony Holohan

ANNUAL 2020: GOLDHAWK’S AWARDS FOR THE PASSING PARADE 2020

Date: November 19, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

Tony Holohan IT IS probably safe to say that Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is not on repeat on Tony ‘Soprano’ Holohan’s playlist. The undisputed gang boss of the Covid-19 pandemic has earned his reputation as a no-nonsense guy who sees the Chianti glass as three-quarters empty and doesn’t take… Read more »

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The confidence-and-supply deal reflected Micheál Martin’s lack of belief in his party’s ability to take on FG in a general election.

ANNUAL 2020: A PLAGUE ON ALL YOUR LEADERS

Date: November 19, 2020 - Last Refuge

THIS YEAR at times resembled a science fiction B movie as civilisation virtually succumbed to the plague in most countries with politics, economics, sport and social interaction paralysed in the face of Covid-19. This provoked a conflict in Ireland between medical science and business that pushed Tánaiste Leo Varadkar into an embarrassing faux pas and… Read more »

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Mary Lou McDonald is managing to stick clearly to a well-thought-out line on Covid and the economic support necessary.

ANNUAL 2020: SINN FÉIN ON THE BRINK

Date: November 19, 2020 - Last Refuge

IF 2019 was an annus horribilis for Sinn Féin, 2020 has been the year of resurrection, of Aiséirí. From the depths of a major setback, the party’s prospect of government power is realistically on the agenda more and more. Political rivals and the media could hardly conceal their glee in 2019 when Sinn Féin suffered… Read more »

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The geographic spread of the Social Democrats, which was co-founded by Catherine Murphy, is even more Dublin-centric than Labour’s. Solidarity/People Before Profit TDs, such as Richard Boyd Barrett (below), are all lively and effective political operators.

ANNUAL 2020: FRINGE PARTIES TRAPPED

Date: November 19, 2020 - Last Refuge

As they considered who to vote for to lead our government in February, the electorate faced the choice of TweedleFF or TweedleFG. Perennial predictions of a wipe-out of Independents were unfulfilled and, while there are none in government, they remain poised to strike a deal should a sudden election arise. As the two centre-right parties… Read more »

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Rory Cleary

STICKING IT AT DUNDALK

Date: November 19, 2020 - Sport of Kings

FLAT STAYERS aren’t particularly well catered for at Dundalk and, after some lobbying from Michael Grassick’s Irish Racehorse Trainers’ Association, Horse Racing Ireland agreed to add a low-level handicap over two miles to the recent fixture list. It was a humble affair and was won by the Rory Cleary-trained Nightly Wailing, ridden by the trainer’s… Read more »

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Ali Ryan

ALI RYAN’S GOSSIES

Date: November 19, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

ALI RYAN, the boss of online gossip outlet Goss, announced last week that her much-talked-about annual awards show, the Gossies 2021, will indeed be going ahead come January, albeit not in the physical sense. Goldhawk, meanwhile, is waiting for the new accounts to see if there something else to celebrate. Ryan was in a teasing… Read more »

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FRANK CLARKE’S APPOINTMENT

Date: November 18, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

ANOTHER aspect of Séamus Woulfe’s term as attorney general that has recently been seized on is the secretive manner of his appointment to the Supreme Court and the fact that few in the cabinet knew there were other applicants for the job. But what of the similar manner of the appointment as chief justice of… Read more »

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leo Varadkar

VARADKAR’S VBFS

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

HOW PIQUANT that Leo Varadkar should have made cronyism such a strong part of his political profile when he began his bid for leadership of party and country a decade ago. Vlad gave more than just a confidential document to an interested party (Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail) and others have also received preferment of a… Read more »

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Gemma O'Doherty

GEMMA’S BRITISH COMRADES

Date: November 5, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

GEMMA O’DOHERTY is positioned distinctly to the right on the political spectrum, but her rallies and those of other anti-immigrant ‘Irish patriots’, like the National Party, increasingly see followers waving dozens of Irish flags. These patriotic groups usually march around Dublin city centre before stopping and playing republican records, such as A Nation Once Again… Read more »

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Peter Vandermeersch

PROFILE: PETER VANDERMEERSCH

Date: November 5, 2020 - Pillars of Society

BUYING A large newspaper group – Independent News & Media (INM) – just as print media looks to be in the final stage of terminal decline indicates a positive mental attitude; either that or a wildly optimistic view of transitioning profitably from print to digital media. Pile on the Covid plague, which struck less than a… Read more »

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Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen

YOUNG BLOOD: EMER MCLYSAGHT AND SARAH BREEN

Date: November 5, 2020 - The Young Bloods

THEY’VE PUBLISHED three bestselling books, are working on the screenplay for their character’s film debut and won the 2019 Popular Fiction award at the Irish Book Awards. Stellar stuff, but some might say that the most impressive thing Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen have achieved is managing to parlay a single observational comedy idea into… Read more »

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