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Vol.38 No.16

Date: August 13, 2020 -

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DINNY’S REALIGNMENT

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

HIGH COURT judge Brian Cregan got knocked back by Leo Varadkar earlier this year when asking for an extension to the deadline for delivering his report on the sale of Siteserv (now Actavo) to Denis O’Brien’s Millington company. There could be some light shone on the matter sooner rather than later and there is also… Read more »

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DAMN POLLS AND…

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE LATEST political poll – by Behaviour & Attitudes for the Sunday Times – was headlined, “Varadkar and Fine Gael soar in polls”. It added that Sinn Féin had “climbed in the polls”, but that the figures were disappointing for Fianna Fáil. This is a somewhat sketchy account of the trend in the polls since… Read more »

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HUMPHREYS CALLS IN THE TAXMAN

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

A RIVETING judgment emerged out of the High Court last month when Judge Richard Humphreys ruled that a food company, CGI Food Services, must continue to pay ex-financial controller John Clarke, who was deemed to have made a protected disclosure about alleged wrongdoing. The judgment highlights some explosive claims (denied by the defendants) that are… Read more »

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HUME/MALLON AXIS

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

MUCH HAS been made of the two ‘big beasts’ of the SDLP, John Hume and Seamus Mallon, both now dead, whose perseverance helped to enable the peace process. In fact, the rivalry between the two was epic and bedevilled the party for 40 years or so. ‘Uniting people instead of territory’ was not a message… Read more »

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ARKINS VS ELEMENT

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

NEARLY A year ago – following a joint request by ICTU, SIPTU and the lobby group Screen Producers Ireland – an audit of the independent film and TV drama production sector was instigated by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). There is still no sign of the report and, meanwhile, some film workers continue to find… Read more »

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BOYS AND GIRLS OF THE OLD BRIGADE

Date: August 13, 2020 - Hush Hush

Boris Johnson’s bestowal of peerages to a former militant supporter of the IRA’s armed struggle, along with the DUP’s Nigel Dodds and the DUP-supporting Kate Hoey, did not get the attention it deserves. Former Brexit Party MEP Claire Fox is not only now a ‘Lady’, she is also a founder member of the Revolutionary Communist… Read more »

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JAMES MYLER’S PILE

Date: August 13, 2020 - Hush Hush

DESPITE THE pandemic, some owners of substantial properties have not been deterred from sticking them on the market. One of those happy to venture out is high-flying James Myler and his wife, Bronagh, who have just put their Monkstown, Co Dublin pile, Westbury, up for sale with a price tag of a chunky €3.45m. This… Read more »

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THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: August 13, 2020 - The Hot Air Brigade

We were looking for a giant and found a man whose life made all our lives bigger. Bono commemorates John Hume, Irish Times John was a source of wisdom about many things in our house, not just politics. When we wanted a dog, it was his thoughts we heard on the subject. Emily Hourican, Sunday… Read more »

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COOL COURT CLIMATE

Date: August 13, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

Imagine ordinary citizens being able to take the government to court to hold them to account for their climate inaction. That was the appalling vista painted by barristers for the state during the so-called Climate Case, in which Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) won a shock Supreme Court victory that forces the government to… Read more »

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MICHEÁL MARTIN’S PARTY PLEDGE

Date: August 13, 2020 - Last Refuge

HAS MICHEÁL MARTIN become utterly detached from rank-and-file members and even TDs of the party he leads or is he simply disinterested in their opinion of him? The interview he gave to the Irish Times last week indicates that he knows what most members now think of him but, as he has got what he… Read more »

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TROUBLESOME GREENS

Date: August 13, 2020 - Last Refuge

THAT DISSENTING abstention by Green junior minister Joe O’Brien signifies more than just a temporary wobble by the Dublin Fingal TD. It challenges the view that a large majority of the 12 Green TDs are supporters of Eamon Ryan and that deputy leader Catherine Martin is isolated within the parliamentary party. This perceived balance of… Read more »

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BOG CUTTINGS

Date: August 13, 2020 - Bog Cuttings

‘STEAMERS AND SCUMBAGS’ Gavin Rainbow (36) of Crawford Street, Bruff, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and to public intoxication following an altercation late last year. Gardaí had been called to a disturbance when they heard a man shouting that they “did not have a warrant” and should “fuck off”. The defendant… Read more »

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

SUNDAY TIMES PLAYBOOK

Date: August 13, 2020 - Fit to Print?

NO FAFFING around at the Sunday Times (unlike the Sindo) this weekend, where MI5’s favourite newspaper played it straight from the British political and military playbook. Unionist supporter Newton Emerson was given a full broadsheet page to play down John Hume’s achievements – he “lost his influence over the peace process” when Adams came “on… Read more »

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VINCENT CROWLEY’S CV

Date: August 13, 2020 - Fit to Print?

THE SPECTACLE of a former chief executive suing his former employer for breaches of data protection and privacy makes for compelling viewing and there will be much interest in the case being taken by INM’s former CEO, Vincent Crowley – just one of a legion taking similar cases. Crowley had a roller coaster of a… Read more »

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MOOLAH FOR SI BOARD MEMBERS

Date: August 13, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

THE RELEASE date for Screen Ireland’s annual report is always unheralded and slow to arrive. While Goldhawk is regularly told to wait for the report to get answers to questions about spending, the information when finally published relates to decisions made in the distant past. For clarity, before you get out the popcorn, this is… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

THE GREAT BOOK’S BENEFICIARIES

Date: August 13, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

WITH RTÉ preparing to broadcast a documentary next week on The Great Book of Ireland (GBI), maybe some light will be thrown on the divvying up of the proceeds from its sale. The whole project was kick-started in the early 1990s, fronted by poet Theo Dorgan and artist Gene Lambert through The Great Book of… Read more »

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A TRAVELLER AT THE GATES OF WISDOM – JOHN BOYNE

Date: August 13, 2020 - BooksReviews

JOHN BOYNE’S 12th novel for adults takes place across more than 2,000 years and 50 countries. The sprawling, 430-page story addresses familiar social issues at pivotal moments in history, but too often there is nothing to back up the author’s obvious ambition. The book begins in Palestine with the unnamed narrator recalling his traumatic childhood… Read more »

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GERARD MAGUIRE’S FINE WINE

Date: August 13, 2020 - High Society

GERARD MAGUIRE has just picked up a number of shares in his Almax Wines Ltd, the company behind the high-profile 64 Wine shop and wine bar in Glasthule, south Co Dublin. Although he is the face of the business (while his wife, Lucy Gaffney, focuses on doing Denis O’Brien’s bidding), Ger actually held no shares… Read more »

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C&C SHAREHOLDERS DESERVE EXPLANATION FOR CEO EXIT

Date: August 13, 2020 - Moneybags

THE UNPLANNED departure of a CEO, requiring the chair to step in as temporary boss, is rarely a sign that things are going well. With Stephen Glancey jumping ship from C&C at the start of this year and Stewart Gilliland taking the reins, shareholders deserve a full explanation. Instead, Gilliland waits until page nine of… Read more »

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VERMILION ENERGY’S CORRIB EXPERIENCE

Date: August 13, 2020 - Moneybags

OFFSHORE OIL and gas exploration have been attracting plenty of attention, with the Greens (and Sinn Féin) pushing a ban on this activity and on the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Figures just filed for Canadian oil and gas explorer Vermilion Energy Inc throw some light on the finances of the most high-profile energy… Read more »

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EMMETT MULLINS’S ID ISSUE

Date: August 13, 2020 - Sport of Kings

EMMETT MULLINS will be glad to see the back of this summer. The talented young trainer recently found himself in the headmaster’s office again, after one of his horses could not be identified when presented to race at Leopardstown. The acting steward on the day received a report from the veterinary officer of the Irish… Read more »

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RAMONA NICHOLAS’S BAD MEDICINE

Date: August 13, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

GOLDHAWK WAS surprised to see one of the many companies in the Cara Pharmacies group, fronted by the former Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist Ramona Nicholas, ending up in liquidation last month. Unfortunately, it is not possible to shed any light on the recent performance of Cara Pharmacies (Galway) Unlimited, due to… Read more »

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AMER ABDULAZIZ’S EXIT

Date: August 13, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

PHOENIX Thoroughbreds – the so-called regulated fund run by the bolshy Bahrain entrepreneur Amer Abdulaziz that has millions of euro invested in the international racing and bloodstock industry – has announced it is ceasing its racing operations in Britain with immediate effect. This could have a knock-on effect in Ireland. The company, which has always… Read more »

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SLIPPING AND SLIDING IN SLIGO

Date: August 13, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

FOR THE second time in three years, the racing surface at Sligo racecourse has been deemed unfit for purpose, with racing abandoned after four races there last week. This is despite some significant spending as recently as 2017. Happily, there is a few bob in the kitty. Four horses slipped up on the bend past… Read more »

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PETE QUEALLY’S PET FOOD

Date: August 13, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

WITH THE midlands undergoing lockdown, it is interesting to see that accounts have just been filed for one of the operations that recently succumbed to a Covid-19 outbreak – Irish Dog Foods (IDG) in Co Kildare. This is actually owned by the Queally family’s Arrow Group, where the directors include Pete, Liam and Michael Queally…. Read more »

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HUME’S PR PROCESS

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

JOHN HUME Jnr, a public relations and lobbying consultant, is hardly in the same line of business as his late father, to whom he paid tribute at his funeral recently. However, Hume Jnr has certainly made his mark on governments and in the world of corporate affairs using the same honeyed tones as his dad…. Read more »

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FOSTER FACES DUP MUTINY

Date: August 13, 2020 - Northwind

The uneasy Covid truce in the north’s executive has survived into the summer recess, but only just. Some in the DUP are unhappy. Disagreements about how to deal with the response to Covid-19 were eventually set aside, mainly because Sinn Féin ministers decided they had made their point publicly and, besides, the ministers running health… Read more »

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DERMOT DESMOND’S BUMPY RIDE

Date: July 30, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

LAST YEAR’S crash-landing of Datalex – a company that supplies ticket-booking software to airlines around the world – was one of the more controversial episodes in the history of the Irish Stock Exchange, with the shares being suspended at the start of May 2019 (see business profile, pg 24). Given the presence of Dermot Desmond… Read more »

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YATES, KENNY, COOPER RADIO WARS

Date: July 30, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

NEWSTALK’S PROMOTIONAL blitz for its morning programme, The Pat Kenny Show, reached almost hysterical, OTT proportions recently, as it ramps up for what it hopes will be a more even contest now that Sean O’Rourke has been forced to retire from his am slot on RTÉ. Interviewed by an admiring Sarah Caden in the Sunday… Read more »

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PROFILE: JACK CHAMBERS

Date: July 30, 2020 - Pillars of Society

HOW TO explain the rapid elevation of 29-year-old Jack Chambers – already one of the top newly appointed junior minsters (finance) – to the post of chief whip and a super junior minister that attends cabinet? The defenestration of Barry Cowen is the answer, in… Read more »

YOUNG BLOOD: KERRON Ó LUAIN

Date: July 30, 2020 - The Young Bloods

THE SEDATE world of Irish-language organisations rarely intrudes on the monoglot English-language media in Ireland. A few polite words, the cúpla focal, usually suffice, with the occasional outburst of hostile commentary to set the balance. But a new breed of young activists is making their voice heard and upsetting the cosy consensus that has ruled… Read more »

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WOMEN BREACH LEGAL CITADEL

Date: July 30, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

WHAT A restrained, non-triumphal article the Irish Times published about a victory for feminists – and indeed all women (if not exactly average, run-of-the-mill women) – as exemplified by Maura McNally’s recent success in winning the chair of the Bar Council. IT journalists, of course, have the greatest respect for members of the legal profession… Read more »

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BERTRAM ALLEN’S CLEAR ROUNDS

Date: July 30, 2020 - High Society

WITH SPORT back on the agenda, it didn’t take long for young Bertram Allen to make his mark earlier this month, when he won the first five-star international show jumping fixture (in sunny St Tropez) after the lockdown was lifted. He continues to make significant inroads in a sport where you rely on the deep… Read more »

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DE RENZY’S RETURN

Date: July 30, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

GOLDHAWK spotted one of his old friends is in the middle of a High Court spat with a Cayman Island company. The intriguing case turns out to involve very big bucks and cyber currency. According to court filings, Guardian Coin Inc is suing one Graeme de Renzy and his London company, UK Capital Reserve Ltd… Read more »

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WILLIAM CAMPBELL’S PODCAST

Date: July 30, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

A LITTLE-known podcaster attracted the attention of the super litigious Dermot Desmond recently, although the outcome may not have been exactly what the moneybags anticipated. Last May, William Campbell’s Here’s How current affairs podcast (hereshow.ie) was dealing with Dermo’s encyclical on solving the housing crisis, which the Irish Times had deigned to publish at the… Read more »

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