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Sharon Alston

SHARON ALSTON’S CHARITY GIG

Date: March 26, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

AS WE keep being reminded, the coronavirus does not recognise borders. Nor, indeed, does it recognise pop stars. Along with sporting events and the hospitality sector, the concert business turns out to be super vulnerable to Covid-19. One of the festivals with a big question mark over it is the fledgling Forever Young shindig, which… Read more »

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Dermot Desmond

MARK PAUL BITES BACK

Date: March 26, 2020 - Fit to Print?

GOLDHAWK WAS more than a little surprised to see a blistering attack on one Dermot Desmond over his use of the Irish Times to “preach” to the Irish people. The swipe appeared in the, er, Irish Times. Business hack Mark Paul’s article is extraordinary given its context. As fans of Goldhawk are aware (see The… Read more »

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Siún Ní Raghallaigh

JOE DEVINE’S FILM SCRIPT

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

IRISH FILM industry reports are two a penny (or rather more expensive than that actually), but they seldom arrive in the manner of PwC’s recent ‘Section 481 & The Film/TV Industry’. While the consultancy giant’s logo is on the cover of the report, the driving force here was actually moneybags Joe Devine. It turns out… Read more »

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John Concannon

JOHN CONCANNON’S RETURN

Date: March 26, 2020 - Last Refuge

LEO VARADKAR is certainly persistent. He has called John Concannon back from NUI Galway to lead the latest government information campaign on the Covid-19 crisis, less than two years after being advised to scrap the Strategic Communications Unit (SCU) headed by Concannon. The question is why. The SCU was behind €1.5m worth of ‘advertorial’ articles… Read more »

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Willie Walsh

WALSH’S ‘KICKING AND THUMPING’ AT IAG

Date: March 26, 2020 - Moneybags

AFTER TRANSFORMING British Airways (BA) into the hugely successful International Airlines Group (IAG) over the last 15 years, Willie Walsh announced his premature departure from the company just as the recent €1bn Air Europa acquisition is set to deliver dominance on the south European routes. Happily for IAG, the CEO’s surprise exit has been delayed… Read more »

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FP-3806

Volume 38 Issue 06

Date: March 26, 2020 -

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FRANK CALLANAN’S ADVICE

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

AS LEO Varadkar continues to take the political opportunity presented by the current crisis, he may be getting used to some of the nice things being said about him. There are, however, those who question his authority given the clear demand for change. Presumably, the taoiseach was happy to see Frank Callanan SC, part of… Read more »

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article-default

KATHRYN THOMAS’S LOCKDOWN

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

GIVEN THAT viewers of RTÉ are increasingly accustomed to seeing various Montrose personalities popping up on each other’s shows, often shamelessly plugging their latest offering, the video appearance of self-isolating Kathryn Thomas on Claire Byrne Live earlier this week was perhaps not that surprising. Byrne part-hosted the show in her own state of self-isolation at… Read more »

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Jude Thaddeus Okolo

VATICAN PLAYS THE LONG GAME

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

SITE PREPARATION work at St Vincent’s Hospital in south County Dublin has largely been completed, but the main construction work for the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) continues to be delayed until someone blinks over the transfer of the land controlled by the Sisters of Charity. Health minister Simon Harris may have bitten off more… Read more »

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John McGuirk

JOHN MCGUIRK’S TACTICS

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

GRIPT.IE EDITOR John McGuirk’s recent hit job on former Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell was the latest in his long-running effort to beat the biased left-wing media at what he certainly regards as their own game. In his social media postings around the piece, McGuirk made sure to set out all of the trappings of… Read more »

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Leo Varadkar

LEO AND MICKEY’S CENTENARY CHALLENGE

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE ON-OFF ‘mots-doux’ engagement talks between the Blueshirts and Soldiers of Destiny have yet to address one of the thorniest aspects of their approaching, embryonic merger coalition. That is the sweetly named ‘Decade of Centenaries’ that has been running, on and off, since 2012. The real meat of the centenaries is just beginning, and the… Read more »

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article-default

DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN’S TACTICS

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THERE WERE different tactics used this month when examining the digital marketing company controlled by former Irish rugby international and RTÉ presenter Donncha O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan and partner Pat O’Flynn invested in additional shares in 4Impacts Intelligent Solutions Ltd, when €306,000 was raised on March 10. The Business Post, er, tackled the subject with a story… Read more »

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Emma Balmaine

ST JOHN OF GOD’S PRAYERS

Date: March 26, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE CAMPAIGN by St John of God (SJOG) to extract more money from the HSE has gained little traction given the rather regrettable timing, just as the coronavirus was gathering steam. The reverend brothers, who specialise in psychiatric nursing, tried to copy the Rehab playbook from last year, announcing that they would have to shut… Read more »

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Willie Frazer

SPOOKS AT THE SHELBOURNE

Date: March 26, 2020 - Hush Hush

DOUBLE AGENT – the new book by British agent in the IRA Peter Keeley – is remarkably similar to his 2006 publication, Unsung Hero. Keeley is usually better known by the pseudonym ‘Kevin Fulton’ and therein lies one of the many fictions surrounding this British state ‘asset’ from Newry. Almost without exception when reporting on… Read more »

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HushHush-def

BARBARA CONDON’S CAMPAIGN

Date: March 26, 2020 - Hush Hush

With advertising decimated by Covid-19, one of the few campaigns getting plenty of airtime recently was the ‘We Don’t Buy It’ initiative, which is focused on the sex trade and highlights “the myths that allow prostitution to continue”. It follows on from a previous high-profile campaign in the lead-up to the criminalisation of the purchase… Read more »

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Vogue Williams

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE 3806

Date: March 26, 2020 - The Hot Air Brigade

I don’t watch Love Island. I’m one of the only people in Britain that hasn’t watched it. Vogue Williams blows the lid on her TV viewing habits, Irish Mail on Sunday There’s a fierce, dazzling charisma that makes her an almost athletic conversationalist, someone who can bounce from big issues to big laughs without missing… Read more »

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Brandon Lewis

BRANDON LEWIS’S BOMBSHELL

Date: March 26, 2020 - Northwind

WHEN THE highly regarded Julian Smith was unceremoniously sacked as secretary of state on February 12, one source at the Northern Ireland Office said the reaction there was “WTF?” Smith had just resurrected the Stormont executive and, furthermore, had managed to get all the parties to take seats in that executive. There is now a… Read more »

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Tara Shine

THAT’S JUST GAS

Date: March 26, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

IT WAS probably unremarkable that this year’s Green Awards judges gave out two gongs to a fossil fuel network provider, Gas Networks Ireland (GNI). Since these awards are largely about putting forward a greener image (Shell’s Corrib Gas project was a previous winner), GNI’s double win is quite apt, a tribute to the tenacity and… 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

MICHAEL CREED’S SECURE LINE

Date: March 26, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

WATCHING POLITICAL leaders respond to the coronavirus, it’s impossible not to contrast it to the foot-dragging that passes for climate, er, action. After Leo Varadkar’s Churchillian address on St Patrick’s Day, exhorting us “to come together as a nation… to save many lives”, it was hard not to imagine him speaking similar words in response… Read more »

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Catherine Martin

WHERE NOW FOR EAMON RYAN?

Date: March 26, 2020 - Last Refuge

GREEN PARTY leader Eamon Ryan has always believed enthusiastically that being in politics means being in government. But this time, it seems, his enthusiasm to do the government thing for the country is not shared with his parliamentary party. The Greens turned pale even before the coronavirus crisis hit home properly. Briefings by Department of… Read more »

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Micheál Martin

CIRCLING MICHEÁL MARTIN

Date: March 26, 2020 - Last Refuge

MICHEÁL MARTIN continues to come under pressure within Fianna Fáil because of his proposal that the party go into full coalition with Fine Gael. Coronavirus may have bought him some time, but the clock is ticking. While a majority of the parliamentary party, with varying degrees of reluctance, has been backing the leader’s proposal, councillors… Read more »

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Kevin Rafter

LUVVIES TO LOSE MINISTER?

Date: March 26, 2020 - Last Refuge

THE ARTS sector must be fearing what’s in store for it in the government formation talks. It looks like the creative types are facing a particularly bleak post-coronavirus landscape, with funding slashed and maybe no minister at Cabinet. Meanwhile, the bizarre plan to move the Arts Council HQ is looking a bit previous. Even before… Read more »

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Bog-Cuttings-Defaul

BOG CUTTINGS 3806

Date: March 26, 2020 - Bog Cuttings

Chip On The Shoulder A 28-year-old farmer appeared at Letterkenny District Court after being arrested under the Public Order Act. Judge Paul Kelly heard that the defendant had been walking down Main Street in Letterkenny when he flung a takeaway supper into the open window of a Garda patrol car. Solicitor Patsy Gallagher, defending, said… Read more »

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

NEWSBRAND’S BAIL-OUT

Date: March 26, 2020 - Fit to Print?

THE CEO of the lobby group for the newspaper sector, Newsbrands Ireland – Ann Marie Lenihan – has asked “that government commits to investing advertising spend in national and local news publishers”. She pointed out that the steps should be “an immediate action” by Leo Varadkar et al, while adding that further medium and long-term… Read more »

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Eilish O'Regan

‘INDO’ CORPSE COUNT

Date: March 26, 2020 - Fit to Print?

WE ARE facing one hell of a lot of corpses in the next few weeks if the part-time virologists, pneumonologists and epidemiologists in the Irish Indo’s newsroom are on the money. Rushing to get on top of Susan Mitchell’s scoop in the Business Post of a potential 1.9 million Covid-19 infections in Ireland, the hacks… Read more »

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Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

COOLMORE’S US SETBACKS

Date: March 26, 2020 - Sport of Kings

WHILE 2020 is still in its infancy, American racing has been rocked by another scandal after a two-year long FBI investigation. This revealed that last year’s US champion three-year-old colt, Maximum Security, had been operating with the help of specialist performance-enhancing drugs. Although Coolmore has found itself impacted by the controversy, it is in fact… Read more »

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Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

CHELTENHAM DID HAVE RACING

Date: March 26, 2020 - Sport of Kings

GIVEN THE mainstream media uproar over Cheltenham taking place, it is no surprise that the actual racing action took second place. As usual, there were some notable performances from Irish jockeys, trainers and horses. Despite being written off on numerous occasions, Barry Geraghty silenced his critics and rewarded his boss, JP McManus, for keeping faith… Read more »

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Kate Verling

KATE VERLING’S BAD TIMING

Date: March 26, 2020 - High Society

THE TIMING of beauty business entrepreneur Kate Verling’s recent announcement that her Mink salon is investing a whopping €½m “in an expansion programme” turned out to be pretty unfortunate. Few sectors have been worse hit by Covid-19. While Sandymount-based Kate is the face of Mink, she actually only owns half the business, which was originally… Read more »

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Patrick Doran

PATRICK DORAN’S FOXROCK VILLA

Date: March 26, 2020 - High Society

WHILE SELLING substantial properties at the moment looks like a pretty tall ask, there are a few prime properties that have recently come on the market, notably Woodberry off Foxrock’s Torquay Road, where the owners are looking for €3m. Until 2002, this was the home of one Seán Dunne before he moved up in the… Read more »

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Consuelo O’Connor

TOM HIGGINS ROCKETS HOME

Date: March 26, 2020 - High Society

WELCOME HOME former Irish Psychics Live phone-line operator Tom Higgins and his wife, Theresa Dunne, who are back in Co Wicklow following a rather extended holiday abroad. Meanwhile, would-be space cadet Tom is still waiting for Richard Branson to fire him into orbit, almost 15 years after paying for his ticket. Covid-19 is, however, set… Read more »

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Francesca McDonagh

BANK OF IRELAND MISSING ITS OWN TARGETS

Date: March 26, 2020 - Moneybags

WHEN FRANCESCA McDonagh was appointed CEO of the Bank of Ireland in October 2017, there were high expectations that, as an outsider, she would bring a new level of innovation into the bank. While there have been significant cultural changes, the impact on the bank’s bottom line has not been a positive one. After setting… Read more »

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Paul Smithwick

WHAT’S ALE-ING PAUL SMITHWICK?

Date: March 26, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

GOLDHAWK WAS surprised to spot that legal eagle Paul Smithwick OBE has resigned from the board of Sullivan Craft Brewery, the company behind Sullivan’s Red Ale that is currently looking to make it big in America following significant investment. He has, however, other things on his mind at the moment.” Based in Mount Juliet, Co… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

MAUREEN KENNELLY’S SUCCESSOR

Date: March 26, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

GIVEN THE solid financial standing of Poetry Ireland (PI) and its high place in the pecking order as far as the Arts Council is concerned, there should be significant interest in the position of director of the organisation, which has now been advertised with a closing date at the end of this month. The successful… Read more »

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Brody Sweeney

BRODY SWEENEY’S SETBACK

Date: March 26, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

BRODY SWEENEY has described in recent interviews how revenues at his popular Camile Thai restaurants have been walloped, forcing him to lay off staff and start a home-delivery service, so he’ll be pretty frustrated that efforts to build a wheelchair accessible entrance at the Little Museum of Dublin, where he is chairman, are being sent… Read more »

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Martin Keane

MARTIN KEANE’S CONCERNS

Date: March 26, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

MARTIN KEANE, the owner of such well-known Dublin venues as Oliver St John Gogarty and Blooms Hotel, struck a miserable-looking figure in his interview with Tom Lyons in The Currency the week after St Patrick’s Day. To be sure, it was a difficult week for publicans all over the country, with their busiest day of… Read more »

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Enda O’Coineen

ENDA O’COINEEN’S DIRECTORS

Date: March 26, 2020 - The Hot Water Brigade

WITH NEWSPAPER advertising shrivelling as businesses pull in their horns over the coronavirus, Enda O’Coineen’s team might be wishing that previous owner Conor Killeen had kept a lid on remuneration before he exited. Goldhawk noticed an intriguing set of notes in the latest accounts for Post Publications Ltd, which was bought by O’Coineen in September… Read more »

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