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Mark O'Keefe

MARK O’KEEFFE’S HOTLINE

Date: August 27, 2020 - High Society

THE IMPACT of the black economy on the hairdressing and make-up sector, post-Covid-19, is making itself felt as some stylists opt to quit the day job and offer a home service to clients. One of those who has had enough of this carry-on, it appears, is Mark O’Keeffe of the high-profile Brown Sugar hair and… Read more »

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Colin Hunt

CHEAP AIB SHARES DON’T REFLECT RECOVERY POTENTIAL

Date: August 27, 2020 - Moneybags

AIB BOSS Colin Hunt must be wondering why he is coming under fire in the media, with the Irish Times, for example, accusing him of taking a “much higher than expected €1.2bn upfront charge in the first half of the year to absorb the expected loan losses from Covid-19”. As this only represents 2% of… Read more »

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Alan Walsh

CASHING OUT AT IPL PLASTICS

Date: August 27, 2020 - Moneybags

ARYZTA AND Origin were spin-offs from Philip Lynch’s IAWS, with the other remnants transformed by him into a conglomerate and brought together under the re-christened name of One 51, for which Lynch raised €600m to kick start the venture. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then, leading to the recent… Read more »

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David Keoghan

DAVID KEOGHAN ROLLS THE DICE

Date: August 27, 2020 - Sport of Kings

WHEN THE Fozzy Stack-trained Aloha Star was demoted from second to third for causing interference to the favourite, The Lir Jet, in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh earlier this month, it appeared that connections may have been hard done by. Things didn’t quite work out that way. It was no surprise that… Read more »

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Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

GALLOPING ODDS AT TRAMORE

Date: August 27, 2020 - Sport of Kings

TRAINED BY Gordon Elliott, Enzani will be the subject of Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) interest when he runs next, after a peculiar outing at Tramore on August 14 that caught the attention of the race-day stewards. Having finished third on his previous start, Enzani opened a 3/1 shot in the betting for a hurdle… Read more »

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Station House Hotel

SWEENEY BOYS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Date: August 27, 2020 - Briefcases

THE YOUNG Sweeneys of Clifden will hardly have enjoyed the notoriety lent to them by coverage of the 80 or so members of the Oireachtas golfing society in recent days, which blew up just after the boys borrowed big on the strength of their own life insurance policies. James, Joseph and Ronan Sweeney are each… Read more »

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Larry Murrin

LARRY MURRIN’S JAZZ BLUES

Date: August 27, 2020 - Briefcases

POOR OLD Larry Murrin – who owns the Sole Seafood and Grill restaurant on South William Street, D2 – has just got some bad news. Murrin has spent the last few months trying to kill off plans for a jazz bar put forward by Paul Keaveney, who owns the nearby Dakota venue as well as… Read more »

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Dermot Smurfit

DERMOT SMURFIT’S ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

Date: August 27, 2020 - Briefcases

AS ANY good gambler knows, what goes up must come down. Dermot Stopford Smurfit, the now not-so-young tyro who’s been up and coming with his Game Account Network (GAN) online gambling business for more than 15 years, knows this better than most. After the euphoria of the recent Nasdaq flotation, the shareholders have been on… Read more »

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

CHECKING OUT OF THE WESTCOURT

Date: August 27, 2020 - Briefcases

THE OWNERS of the Westcourt Hotel on West Street in Drogheda, Co Louth, are treading familiar ground after calling in the liquidator. The trading entity behind the hotel is Powerscourt Hotels Ltd (PHL), which is part-owned by Mullingar businessman George Stephens through Kingsfield Holdings Ltd, where he has a 25% stake. Irish-based German businessmen Christian… Read more »

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Alan Duggan

ALAN DUGGAN’S LOBBYING

Date: August 27, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

IT WAS only a matter of months after James Hickey retired from the chief executive role at Screen Ireland that he landed some new directorships – including Galway Film Resource Centre (GFC), a registered charity and company limited by guarantee where Alan Duggan, the manager, has recently been busy lobbying. Initially conceived as a low-cost,… Read more »

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

CROSBIES’ LANDMARK MOVE

Date: August 27, 2020 - Briefcases

The oddly named Bontury Ltd is being dissolved by its owners. This turns out to have been known previously as Landmark Media Investments Ltd, which was the company established by the Crosbie family in Cork to hold their media investments, most notably the Irish Examiner, but also a number of local newspapers and stakes in… Read more »

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Ali Ryan

ALI RYAN’S TWEETS

Date: August 27, 2020 - Briefcases

WITH TENSIONS rising between the hacks and the political minders (see p12), such as the health minister’s special adviser Colette Sexton – the former Business Post journalist and Edelman PR suit – Goldhawk was interested to see Ali Ryan stepping into the fray. Sexton came under fire for her firm approach when Stephen Donnelly was… Read more »

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Colette Sexton

‘POST’ MITCHELL MED WARS

Date: August 27, 2020 - Fit to Print?

HEALTH MINISTER Stephen Donnelly’s bad press can hardly be laid at the door of his new policy advisor, former Business Post health and deputy editor Susan Mitchell. But Mitchell will surely provide Donnelly and his PR team with good insights into the hostile and “toxic environment” created by fears arising from the CervicalCheck crisis. Two… Read more »

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Eamon Ryan

THE GREENS AND MILITARISM

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE DEFENCE section in the programme for government is littered with references to Ireland’s military neutrality — five mentions in just over half a page — and a final sentence that says, “Within the context of the European Peace Facility (EPF), Ireland will not be part of decision-making or funding for lethal force weapons for… Read more »

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Eamon Dunphy

‘SINDO’ REVISIONISM ON JOHN HUME

Date: August 13, 2020 - Fit to Print?

NEWLY ENSCONCED Sunday Independent editor Alan English oversaw a well-crafted but highly revisionist special section last weekend on his newspaper’s diatribes against the late John Hume during the 1990s because of his well-chronicled peace process efforts in that period. According to the Sindo’s account last Sunday – and contrary to the naïve view of Goldhawk… Read more »

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Paul Gallagher

PROFILE: PAUL GALLAGHER

Date: August 13, 2020 - Pillars of Society

CHIEF LAW officer in the state – for the second time – is senior counsel Paul Gallagher, whose reverential sycophants in the Law Library and media describe him as the best brain in modern Ireland. He is certainly one of the richest barristers in the land, a condition that allowed him to take a ‘wage… Read more »

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Lorna Bogue

YOUNG BLOODS: LORNA BOGUE

Date: August 13, 2020 - The Young Bloods

AN EXPLOSION of environmental awareness has brought opportunities as well as challenges for the Green Party. Dáil rivals are responding to voter concerns by poaching eco policy and the party is divided over what it means to be green. Rising performer Lorna Bogue has emerged as one of the most high-profile members and a trenchant… Read more »

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Francesca McDonagh

FRANCESCA’S ‘LIVELINE’ LASHING

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

PRESUMABLY, THE chief executive of Bank of Ireland, Francesca McDonagh, knew she was in trouble when Joe Duffy dismissed her “blasé” comments about the bank’s customers being responsible themselves for falling victim to the recent ‘smishing’ fraud. Apparently, Joe had nearly choked on his porridge. Certainly, there was no contest in the PR battle between… Read more »

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Montague Hotel

LYONS’S SHARE OF ASYLUM LOLLY

Date: August 13, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

WHILE MUCH of the focus relating to the midlands lockdown has been on the meat plants, clusters in direct provision centres have also featured, as is the case with the Montague Hotel outside the sleepy village of Emo in Co Laois. This turns out to be just one of a number of operations controlled by… Read more »

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JP McManus

McMANUS DOUBLES DOWN

Date: August 13, 2020 - Sport of Kings

DESPITE THE absence of spectators, the allure of ‘setting one up’ for Galway remains strong and one man experienced in pulling off a successful Galway gamble is Swiss-based moneybags JP McManus. Flying Scotsman was the nag chosen this year by JP, despite three inauspicious efforts last year under the care of trainer Aidan O’Brien. Flying… Read more »

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Richard Bruton

VLADIMIR BRUTON’S VIRILITY

Date: August 13, 2020 - Last Refuge

RICHARD BRUTON’S macho triathlon through his Dublin Bay North constituency grabbed the headlines, as intended, but not so much for its stated goal – the government’s initiative to promote staycations in Ireland – or even its unstated goal – the promotion of Fine Gael. Richard made sure to present as Clontarf’s answer to Vladimir Putin,… Read more »

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Sonya Lennon

SONYA LENNON’S QUALITY ASSURANCE

Date: August 13, 2020 - High Society

AN ARTICLE in the Irish Times last week highlighted the call for a state-backed quality assurance mark for entities that commit to making progress on gender equality. The recommendation was one of a number contained in a new report from ‘fashion guru’ Sonya Lennon’s Dress for Success organisation, following on from its WorkEqual conference at… Read more »

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Rebecca Winckworth

THE WINCKWORTHS’ CLOUDS

Date: August 13, 2020 - High Society

WHILE BUSINESSES continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19, the online sector has been best protected to date. A company that appears well suited to trading via the internet is White & Green, the upmarket organic fair trade cotton operation run by Sari Winckworth and two of her daughters, Danielle and Rebecca, despite the fact… Read more »

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3816 FP

Vol.38 No.16

Date: August 13, 2020 -

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article-default

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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Leo Varadkar

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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Richard Humphreys

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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John Hume

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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John Arkins

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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Boris Johnson

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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HushHush-def

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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Bono

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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Darragh O'Brien

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

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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Neasa Hourigan

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-Defaul

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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