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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 - Briefcases

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 - Briefcases

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

NOT IN KANSAS ANY MORE

Date: April 23, 2020 - Briefcases

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 - Briefcases

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 - Briefcases

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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Loretta Brennan Glucksman

TRISTAN’S GOOD NEWS

Date: April 9, 2020 - Behind the Scenes

JUST AS the nation’s film and TV producers are facing into the Covid-19 production abyss, Michael O’Keefe’s Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has announced the rather timely allocation of €7m from Sound & Vision funding scheme. The bad news is that the €2.5m Covid-19 bail-out for radio broadcasters announced by Richard Bruton last week is not… Read more »

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The Arms Crisis of 1970

THE ARMS CRISIS OF 1970 – MICHAEL HENEY (APOLLO LONDON)

Date: April 9, 2020 - BooksReviews

IRISH POLITICS experienced a seminal moment in 1970, with two dismissed former ministers, Charlie Haughey and Neil Blaney, facing trial. The charges related to their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle arms into Ireland for the defence of nationalist areas in Northern Ireland against possible loyalist attack. The situation arose following sustained loyalist attacks… Read more »

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Peter Jackson

FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT GETS THE FLUTTERS

Date: April 9, 2020 - Moneybags

COVID-19 has severely impacted Flutter Entertainment. CEO Peter Jackson has estimated that the closedown of global sporting events will hit the bottom line by a mid-point estimate of £100m and this on the optimistic basis that the situation “will only last up to the end of August”. It is not an ideal time to be… Read more »

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Catherine Wiley

CATHERINE WILEY’S COPYRIGHT HEADACHE

Date: April 9, 2020 - Briefcases

LIKE MANY similar organisations that depend on donations to survive, the Catholic Grandparents Association Ltd (CGA) is facing a tough few months ahead. The problem is that the entity is already in the red and has also received a legal threat from across the Atlantic. The CGA was founded in 2003 by Catherine Wiley in… Read more »

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Ron Weisz

RON WEISZ’S SEMI-RETIREMENT

Date: April 9, 2020 - Briefcases

THE CANNY old rancher, Leitrim-based American subprime lender Ron Weisz, might be semi-retired, but he’s still being kept busy by his high-interest money-lending business. Weisz’s latest legal adventure involves a case taken against him and Michael Condon by Thomas Morrin, who in December 2009 borrowed €320,000 from a company called Secured Property Loans (SPL), in… Read more »

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CORPSE COUNT

Date: April 9, 2020 - Affairs of the Nation

THE BIG avoidance in the Covid-19 crisis is discussion on how to cope with the potential surge in corpses. Not surprisingly, the army and civil defence were reluctant to talk to Goldhawk about it, while the HSE was rather annoyed when funeral directors brought up the issue of contaminated bodies when the death rate was… Read more »

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

TULLOW’S AFRICAN ‘PARENT’

Date: April 9, 2020 - Briefcases

AFRICAN BILLIONAIRE oilman Samuel Dossou-Aworet has pushed his stake in his Tullow Oil “baby” to more than 13%. Tullow’s share price has enjoyed a little jump in the last few weeks but, while Dossou-Aworet’s stake is twice as big as it was at the start of January, it’s worth a fraction of what he paid… Read more »

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

RICHARD MEEHAN’S MENU

Date: April 9, 2020 - Briefcases

A FEW short years ago, Richard Meehan was aiming to build his food distribution company to €30m by 2021. Unfortunately, his business took a 70% wallop thanks to the coronavirus lockdown, which has closed virtually every pub, restaurant and kitchen in the country. Last week, the High Court heard that the companies in Meehan’s group… Read more »

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Jim Durie

JIM DURIE’S FITNESS CHALLENGE

Date: April 9, 2020 - Briefcases

At the same time that gyms have gone quiet during the lockdown, one of the bigger players in the game, the company behind the Énergie Fitness franchise, called a creditors’ meeting. It will be recalled that in 2018 the Énergie Fitness gym in Parkwest ran into a spot of bother when LDM Ventures Ltd, where… Read more »

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HushHush-def

RICHARD BRUTON’S APPOINTMENT

Date: April 9, 2020 - Hush Hush

WHILE THE Greens may be determined to stay out of government despite the climate crisis, the wheels keep turning and Richard Bruton is looking for a chair of Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) to replace Julie O’Neill, whose term ends next month. The position comes with a €1,000 per month stipend, which isn’t too bad for… 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

HOT STUFF

Date: April 9, 2020 - Fowl Emissions

IN THE middle of a national emergency, it requires a special type of reckless entitlement to be starting illegal fires on the mountains that endanger the lives of emergency service personnel and inflicts serious air pollution on local communities. But, this annual orgy of gorse burning, notwithstanding the current lockdown, is once again under way,… Read more »

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

SINN FÉIN’S “BELLIGERENCE”

Date: April 9, 2020 - Fit to Print?

ACCORDING TO Irish Times northern editor Gerry Moriarty, the newly resurrected Stormont executive is in danger of falling apart and it’s all the fault of Sinn Féin’s “belligerence… trying to take total control”. The executive is “riven with tensions” about coronavirus. The “steam is beginning to pop the lid off the pot”. In an overwrought… Read more »

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Lissadell

MARTIN SHIELDS BOUNDS FREE

Date: April 9, 2020 - High Society

LAST MONTH was a memorable one for the owners of the sprawling Lissadell on leafy Shrewsbury Road, with financier Martin Shields managing to avoid a prison sentence, despite having been convicted by a court in Germany for serious tax evasion. It turns out that the moneybags and his wife also have an interest in computer… Read more »

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