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Robin Swann

IT WILL BE BANANAS

Date: April 23, 2020 - Northwind

A STRING of experts on epidemiology, north and south, have given interviews and written op-eds advocating an all-Ireland approach to the Covid-19 pandemic. They sound increasingly desperate. Most recently Dr Gabriel Scally, best known here for his inquiry into the cervical smear scandal, has written in both the Irish Times and Irish News (Apr 18)… Read more »

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Seamus Woulfe

SEAMUS WOLFE’S ENERGY POLICY

Date: April 23, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

AMID THE coronavirus chaos, carmakers, airlines and oil companies are persuading governments to roll back environmental regulations to help them weather the Covid-19 storm. Most gratuitous among these is the US plastics industry, which has exploited fears about the virus, with manufacturers convincing several US state governors to suspend bans on plastic bags in the… Read more »

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Simon Coveney

ISRAEL NOT LOSING ANY SLEEP

Date: April 23, 2020 - Last Refuge

GOLDHAWK WAS heartened to see in the proposed programme for government advanced by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that there was a firm commitment to “support efforts towards a durable, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestine conflict”. At least, if they can’t solve the housing and health crises, things might be looking up in the Middle… Read more »

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Simon Harris

SIMON HARRIS’S BRIT BASHING

Date: April 23, 2020 - Last Refuge

YOU KNOW something’s not quite right when a Fine Gael minister defensively reaches out for a bit of Brit bashing. Such was the case when health minister Simon Harris was on the ropes over the high death count in our old folks homes (sorry, “residential settings”). He hesitated before telling RTÉ radio that the Republic… Read more »

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Irish Military Mali Coolock Says No IFP Hermann Kelly Timmy Dooley Aontú Mal O’Hara Fintan O’Toole Josepha Madigan Eoghan Harris Ukraine War Micheál Martin Middle East Philip Ryan Seán Clancy Simon Coveney Hugo MacNeill Mountbatten Neasa Hourigan Green Party Martin NPT Ivana Bacik Independents Limerick Hospital Overcrowding Barry Cowen

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S HEADACHE

Date: April 23, 2020 - Last Refuge

WHILE THE media are concentrating on the chances of one of the smaller parties rowing in behind a Programme for Government put forward by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the real story is that the noose is tightening around FF leader Micheál Martin’s neck, with more and more local constituency groups coming out against the… Read more »

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John Paul Phelan

BLUESHIRTS LOVE-BOMB ‘NUTTERS’

Date: April 23, 2020 - Last Refuge

IT’S HARD to believe that the Blueshirts are blowing kisses at the Greens after bad-mouthing them as ‘nutters’ to the Irish Farmers’ Association, whose members have been known to pour slurry into rivers, set gorse fires and chop hedges used for nesting. During the election campaign, it was easy for minister of state John Paul… Read more »

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Eoghan Murphy

EOGHAN MURPHY’S WAITING GAME

Date: April 23, 2020 - Last Refuge

HOUSING MINISTER Eoghan Murphy has been enjoying some Covid-19 cover over his delays in releasing the social housing completions by local councils in 2019. The figures are not good and will be well below the targeted 6,242 new builds for 2019, up from 4,251 new social houses completed in 2018. By the end of last… Read more »

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Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: April 23, 2020 - Bog Cuttings

‘Stick It In A Certain Location’ JASON SHEEHAN of 5 Renard View, Knightstown, appeared before Cahersiveen District Court in relation to a 2018 incident involving gardaí. Garda Inspector Michael Fleming told the court that Sheehan became abusive towards gardaí when they confronted him in Cahersiveen. When the gardaí notified Sheehan that if he continued his… Read more »

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Marc Coleman

CASSANDRA COLEMAN

Date: April 23, 2020 - Fit to Print?

LOOKS LIKE mercurial economist Marc Coleman is on the loose again, having been tamed within IBEC for a few years. Earlier this month, he popped up on his old radio station, Newstalk, to push his latest pamphlet/report/book called An Economic Response to Covid-19. A catchy title given that it was issued even before we were… Read more »

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Cathal Gaffney

CATHAL GAFFNEY’S SIX SHOOTS

Date: April 23, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

THE FILM and TV business is going through an existential Covid-19 downtime, but the public purse is always open, as evidenced by the latest quarterly list of Revenue’s Section 481 tax break beneficiaries. Some of these are retrospective, like the €½m-€1m scooped by Kieran Corrigan’s Glen Green Ltd for Supervized. This is a film directed… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S LEGACY

Date: April 23, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

WHILE COMMENTATORS speculate on the make-up of any new cabinet, culture minister Josepha Madigan’s name is noticeable by its absence. She has only herself to blame. It is certainly pretty rare for the minister in a good news department to get a kicking in an Irish Times editorial, but Madigan got both barrels last week…. Read more »

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A THOUSAND MOONS - SEBASTIAN BARRY

A THOUSAND MOONS – SEBASTIAN BARRY (FABER & FABER)

Date: April 23, 2020 - BooksReviews

SEBASTIAN BARRY’S Costa-winning Days Without End told the story of two young soldiers in the American Civil War. In this sequel, set during the 1870s, the author returns to these characters. The result is surprisingly underwhelming as a bizarrely woke sensibility muffles much of the book’s momentum. John Cole and Thomas McNulty (two “good-as-women men”)… Read more »

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Eamon Crowley

JEREMY MASDING CUTS AND RUNS FROM PTSB

Date: April 23, 2020 - Moneybags

PERMANENT TSB is a real mess and, after eight years trying to sort it out, CEO Jeremy Masding threw in the towel. Last October he announced that he would be leaving this year, with CFO Eamonn Crowley now lined up to take charge. The new man has a real challenge on his hands, although the… Read more »

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Gavin Slark

GRAFTON GROUP SHARE COLLAPSE OVERDONE

Date: April 23, 2020 - Moneybags

GAVIN SLARK had a unique opportunity to realise the goal of his predecessor, Mike Chadwick, to turn Grafton Group into “a leading international distributor of building materials” by buying CRH’s huge £3bn turnover continental European distribution business, which was for sale last year. He let it pass. Meanwhile, the sell off of Grafton shares in… Read more »

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John V Farrelly

JOHN V FARRELLY’S ADVENTURES

Date: April 23, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

GOLDHAWK’S OLD pal, John V Farrelly, a former Fine Gael politician and a shareholder in ‘free’ energy company Steorn, will be paying close attention to a new book on the company by Business Post journalist Barry Whyte. A former TD and county councillor, Farrelly is better known in recent times for calling his former Blueshirt… Read more »

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Brian Fallon

FALLON BROTHERS DIG DEEP

Date: April 23, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

THEJOURNAL.IE, that right-on source of news for young readers, has probably suffered more than most news outlets due to the Covid-19 restrictions and associated advertising collapse. With advertising revenue completely annihilated, TheJournal.ie has been forced to cut wages, shutter some of its sub-sites and, most recently, launch a funding drive from its readers. Goldhawk certainly… Read more »

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

NOT IN KANSAS ANY MORE

Date: April 23, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

THE BOYS of Dollard Packaging in Dublin will be breathing a sigh of relief after they dodged a hefty $4.5m pension deficit claim in Kansas. Eugene Reynolds and Patrick Walsh are the main shareholders in Dollard, a Dublin printing company which is part of a wider group that includes assorted unlimited companies such as Coleridge… Read more »

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Francesca McDonagh

FRANCESCA’S ‘ANNUS HORRIBILIS’

Date: April 23, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

LIKE BRITAIN’S Queen Elizabeth, who gave her an OBE in 2017, Bank of Ireland (BoI) boss Francesca McDonagh will presumably recognise an annus horribilis when one presents. The British banker is having a forgettable year so far (see The Phoenix 10/04/2020) and things don’t seem to be getting much better. Complaints have mounted from politicians… Read more »

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Rich Ricci

RICH RICCI’S WIND DOWN

Date: April 23, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

A COMPANY called Dedsert Ireland Ltd has just been voluntarily wound up by its owners. The company turns out to be behind the Irish-registered BetBright operation that was sold off last year. Fans of Goldhawk will be familiar with the exploits of the fabulously named Rich Ricci, who invested heavily in BetBright. The free-spending racehorse… Read more »

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EDITORIAL STATEMENT

Date: April 23, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

EDITORIAL STATEMENT – We wish to state that the editorial team at The Phoenix, had nothing to do with the recent recruitment advertisement for an intern. This was an action solely taken by management and we wish to fully distance ourselves from that action. Paddy Prendiville (editor) Paul Farrell (dep. editor)

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3807 FP

Vol 38 Issue 07

Date: April 9, 2020 -

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Paschal Donohoe

HOLDING THE LINE ON €350

Date: April 9, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE LACK of probing by some newspaper editors and parts of the state broadcaster of the party line from Government Buildings has at last begun to fray – at least when it comes to the Covid-19 testing debacle. But the line Fine Gael will be most focused on in the near future is the one… Read more »

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Brian McEnery

BRIAN McENERY’S CRITICS

Date: April 9, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE SLOW reaction of Simon Harris and the government’s National Public Health Emergency Team to the spread of Covid-19 in nursing homes created significant tensions. However, relations between the body that represents private nursing homes in Ireland and politicians have been pretty dreadful in the not-so-distant past. Not noted for great employment conditions, there have… Read more »

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Seamus Coffey

COFFEY BITES HIS LIP

Date: April 9, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

CONGRATULATIONS to Cork University economist Seamus Coffey on his diplomatic skills as he watched (what did he say?) the government pile huge debts to cope with the pandemic on to the €200bn (€87,000 for every person in the workforce) we already owe the international lenders. Coffey is the outgoing chairman of the Irish Fiscal Advisory… Read more »

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Paul Reid

SLOWLY DOES IT

Date: April 9, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE HEALTH department and HSE’s leisurely approach towards critical care beds has certainly come back to haunt them. The inevitable ‘critical care major surge’ has arrived and shone a very unflattering light on the reality of the best little country in the world in which to do business. Up to three months ago, health officials… Read more »

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Fred Barry

WHO WILL INHERIT HOSPITAL MESS?

Date: April 9, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

WHILE SIMON Harris will be glad that the coronavirus crisis is distracting from the mess that is the National Children’s Hospital (NCH), he must be nervous that it might result in his unseating out of the Department of Health (see The Phoenix 27/3/20). The NCH has now begun a potentially costly legal action against builder… Read more »

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Jacqui Durkin

THE RUC’S PROXIES

Date: April 9, 2020 - Hush Hush

THE COVERT intelligence operations carried out by RUC Special Branch during the Troubles are still beyond the reach of public investigation. One case featured in a recent report is particularly troubling. The discredited RUC was effectively disbanded in 2000 after a review by the former governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten. The PSNI was created… Read more »

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Ciara Kelly

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: April 9, 2020 - The Hot Air Brigade

While other celebrities are collectively losing it, Vogue Williams becomes a quarant-icon. Ciara Kelly, Irish Independent, submitted by reader At the end of the day, we are keeping the flag flying with the show. Maura Derrane on RTÉ’s essential Today programme, Sunday Independent Do you remember those heady days when the nation toasted Maura Higgins… Read more »

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Drew Harris

JACQUI DURKIN’S CONCERNS

Date: April 9, 2020 - Northwind

THE NORTH’S chief criminal justice inspector, Jacqui Durkin, doesn’t mince her words. Overseeing the whole criminal justice system, including the jails, police custody and the police complaints system, she told Stormont’s justice committee last week that some justice organisations weren’t changing. “It’s disheartening for inspectors to repeat recommendations and see limited evidence of implementation,” she… Read more »

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John Wenger

COVID-19’S CLIMATE CALAMITY

Date: April 9, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

THE CORONAVIRUS crisis has delivered a harsh reminder that all human enterprises ultimately exist at the whim of nature. The global spread of the virus has been like a silent tsunami, crashing economies, grounding airline fleets and bringing normal life to a juddering halt. The coronavirus has, in a matter of weeks, achieved what 30… Read more »

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Lisa Chambers

MARTIN’S SEANAD OUTCOME

Date: April 9, 2020 - Last Refuge

FIANNA FÁIL leader Micheál Martin gave a tentative sigh of relief when the election results for the Seanad were completed. Mickey is under growing pressure internally in Fianna Fáil because of his plans to form a coalition with the old enemy. As fans of Goldhawk are aware (see The Phoenix 27/3/20), Covid-19 has come to… Read more »

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Laura Harmon

NUI’S INSPIRING GRADUATES

Date: April 9, 2020 - Last Refuge

THOSE PATHETIC, second-rate graduates of Limerick and Dublin City universities, who are still deprived of a Seanad vote, can take solace that they didn’t have to wade through the worthy election material circulated by many of the National University of Ireland (NUI) candidates. Goldhawk did the dirty work for them. The NUI panel presented no… Read more »

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Eoghan Murphy

MURPHY’S RENTAL FLIP-FLOP

Date: April 9, 2020 - Last Refuge

HOUSING MINISTER Eoghan Murphy returned from his post-election vacation abroad in fine fettle, but still went into self-quarantine. Thankfully, the minister for more tents and higher rents enjoys robust good health, but he may have had a little bit too much sun exposure while he was away. How else can we explain his betrayal of… Read more »

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Micheál Martin

FF’S SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP

Date: April 9, 2020 - Last Refuge

THERE HAS been a quiet reappearance of the term “social partnership” in recent weeks and, for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Covid-19 may help to open the door for the return of the unions to centre stage after a period of diluted influence. Micheál Martin stirred the pot last week when he called… Read more »

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Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: April 9, 2020 - Bog Cuttings

Where’s The Brothel? JOSEPH KERR, of Monuienegh, Ballyheerin, Donegal, was charged in Letterkenny District Court in relation to an 2015 incident involving gardaí. Kerr came to the attention of a Garda patrol while being ejected from a nightclub on Ramelton Road. The gardaí initially instructed Kerr to leave the area under the public order act,… Read more »

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Brendan O'Connor

RTÉ’S COVID-19 MESSAGE

Date: April 9, 2020 - Fit to Print?

THERE WAS a noticeable shift in media coverage of the government’s efforts last weekend as hacks woke up to the fact that maybe there was some spinning going on. For the HSE and Department of Health in particular, it looks like the honeymoon is over as hard questions are being asked about actual number of… Read more »

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