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Leo Varadkar

LOWER-RANKED JUDGES

Date: May 16, 2019 - Wigs on the Green

LEO VARADKAR delivered a speech at the Law Society’s annual bash last Friday, but a slight frisson went through the room following an awkward remark from An Taoiseach about the elevation of solicitors to the bench. Much attention was paid to his remarks about the burning issue of insurance awards and premiums (not to mention… Read more »

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PATRICK QUIRKE’S LAWYERS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Wigs on the Green

THE Patrick Quirke murder trial was noteworthy in that the wealthy farmer – who established a company called Breansha Farms Ltd that only paid out €25,000 in wages in 2017 – ended up with three barristers defending him under the free Criminal Legal Aid scheme. Indeed, Quirke had two senior counsel (Bernard Condon SC and… Read more »

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Annie Hoey

LABOUR’S STUDENT HACKS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Student Life

That two former Union of Students in Ireland (USI) presidents are making their electoral debuts for the Labour Party in this month’s local elections is hardly a surprise. The party has been grooming Kevin Donoghue and Annie Hoey for success since their arrival on the scene. Donoghue, who is running for Dublin City Council (DCC)… Read more »

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Drogheda Leader scoop

FEUDS IN SICILY AND DROGHEDA

Date: May 16, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

THE Drogheda Leader freesheet splashed a sensational scoop across its front page recently, telling the population, already terrified by a local gang feud, that Drogheda is the “second most dangerous place to live in Europe”. According to the Leader, Birmingham in Britain is the only European city more dangerous than Drogheda, and Catania (in Sicily!)… Read more »

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Lyra McKee

IRA ‘VETS’ WARNING SHOTS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Hush Hush

FOOTAGE last month of Saoradh dissident republicans jostling a BBC reporter outside Derry’s courthouse received widespread coverage. But more serious stuff involving IRA members past and present has been going on in northern republican areas recently. Eleven leading members of Saoradh – the political wing of the New IRA, responsible for killing journalist Lyra McKee… Read more »

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JEFFREY DONALDSON’S BAHRAINI PALS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Hush Hush

THE DUP’S Jeffrey Donaldson has come over as the essence of sweet reason in comments about the Irish language and also about the responsibility of “both sides” in dealing with past and present troubles. While Donaldson’s role in the north will soon be put under the spotlight, his support for the repressive Bahrain autocracy has… Read more »

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Gemma O'Doherty

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: May 16, 2019 - The Hot Air Brigade

The bullies who run @DublinAirport banned me from filming the ‘multi faith’ room today, which is effectively a mosque. Tweet by Dublin MEP candidate and ‘investigative journalist’ Gemma O’Doherty Health tourism is on the up. Looking after yourself is the new black. Suzanne Harrington reflecting on taking a vegan course, Irish Examiner, submitted by reader… Read more »

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Naomi Long

ALLIANCE LONG SHOT

Date: May 16, 2019 - Bird's Eye View

After the local government elections in the north on 2 May, the media north and south for once agreed in their analysis. This was ‘new territory’. The ‘middle ground’ had emerged between the twin orange and green swamps. This was a ‘new beginning’. ‘New politics’ seemed likely to develop. Why? At last, after 50 years,… Read more »

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Catherine Noone

FG’S TEENAGE PROHIBITION

Date: May 16, 2019 - Last Refuge

FINE GAEL senator Catherine Noone had to back-pedal rapidly last week following her demand that the legal age limit for alcohol be raised from 18 to 20 years as in Iceland. Her press statement said that the Icelanders had implemented two effective measures, namely raising the drinking age to 20 and banning alcohol and tobacco… Read more »

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Anne Rabbitte

POSTER GIRL ANNE RABBITTE

Date: May 16, 2019 - Last Refuge

FIANNA FÁIL’S Midlands North West (MNW) EU candidate, Anne Rabbitte TD, continues to blunder in her election campaign, with the most recent boo-boo coming when Roscommon Town was plastered with her election posters. This issue has become the latest anti-political phobia for respectable citizenry everywhere, even in places far away from south Dublin. Roscommon Tidy… Read more »

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Deirdre Clune

ELECTRIFYING DEIRDRE CLUNE MEP

Date: May 16, 2019 - Last Refuge

ANOTHER MANUFACTURED row – similar to the spat between amazons Mairead McGuinness and Maria ‘Rose’ Walsh – broke out last week in the South constituency between Fine Gael EU candidates Deirdre Clune MEP and junior minister Andrew Doyle. That’s how competing party handlers saw the last-minute injunction from FG’s director of elections for South, Charlie… Read more »

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Colm McCarthy

CREATING THE NEWS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Fit to Print?

YOU HAVE to hand it to whichever Sunday Independent newsroom hack came up with last weekend’s front page headline, “Varadkar’s €3bn tax cut in doubt – new broadband risk to taxpayers”. The Sindo was able to “reveal” that Vlad is “now being warned” he could not just print money to pay for both the €3bn… Read more »

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

SUNDAY TIMES VS HUAWEI

Date: May 16, 2019 - Fit to Print?

The vigorous US campaign to persuade western countries to block Chinese telecoms giant Huawei (allegedly because of the risk of Chinese espionage or sabotage) has spread to the Irish media. The British media has devoted much time to the debate and Theresa May’s government has decided to allow Huawei to supply “non-core” components for the… Read more »

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Dana

DANA’S CROSS-BORDER LIBELS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Fit to Print?

EX-PRESIDENTIAL candidate and singer, Dana, took the Sunday World for a sum not far off €200,000 plus mammoth legal costs in the Belfast High Court last November (see The Phoenix, 30/11/18) with the newspaper apologising for material on its website and Facebook page. According to Dana, these statements alleged she had covered up her brother… 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

CLIMATE DENIERS RETREAT

Date: May 16, 2019 - Fowl Emissions

Ireland this month became only the second country in the world to declare a climate emergency. In fact, we went even further than the UK in including biodiversity. The move by the Dáil was unexpected and caught almost everyone off-guard, as it came in the form of an amendment proposed by Fianna Fáil that was… Read more »

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John McGuirk

JOHN MCGUIRK’S U-TURN

Date: May 16, 2019 - Fowl Emissions

As the climate crisis has finally gone politically mainstream, the reaction within the Irish media has been instructive. On the one hand, figures like Eamon Dunphy, Matt Cooper and Mario Rosenstock have begun to engage seriously and, in doing so, are bringing the issue to largely new audiences. And seasoned commentators, such as Paul Gillespie… Read more »

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Bog-Cuttings-Default

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Bog Cuttings

His trousers ‘simply fell off’ A JUDGE in Strabane has suggested that a Sion man buy a new pair of trousers after the defendant was convicted of indecent behaviour. Deputy District Judge Trevor Browne was dealing with the “highly unusual” case of Brendan McLaughlin (37) of Alexandra Place. The court heard that McLaughlin had been… Read more »

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Dan Morrissey

DAN MORRISSEY’S €5.5M PILE

Date: May 16, 2019 - High Society

IT’S NOT every day that a €5.5m house goes on the market in Co Dublin, but that is the case with the very private Redwood on Avoca Avenue in Blackrock. This has been the home to top legal eagle Dan Morrissey for 30 years. Morrissey, partner and head of asset management and investment funds at… Read more »

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Consuelo O’Connor

TONY GANNON’S CHARITY

Date: May 16, 2019 - High Society

ACCOUNTS recently filed for Tony Gannon’s investment management operation, Abbey Capital, show that profits continue to roll in. Happily, a chunk of the moolah has been directed towards impoverished farmers in Africa. Abbey has been making big bucks in recent years. In the year to June 2018, the company reported a profit of €12.8m and… Read more »

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The Dig

THE DIG – DIRECTED BY ANDY AND RYAN TOHILL

Date: May 16, 2019 - MoviesReviews

ANY FILM coming out of Northern Ireland and titled The Dig is, even if not overtly, a ‘Troubles’ film, likely to be viewed as an allegory of post-conflict unease. That may be true of brothers Andy and Ryan Tohill’s directorial debut, written by Stuart Drennan, but it presents as an economically told story of the… Read more »

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Sarah Durcan

SARAH DURCAN’S NOMINATION

Date: May 16, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

GOLDHAWK was recently perusing the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Abbey Theatre and spied a regulation that could be interpreted to cause a headache for one of the board members, Sarah Durcan. Durcan is global operations manager of the Science Gallery Network, although much of her energy has been directed to the theatre… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

SARAH DILLON’S €2M FUND

Date: May 16, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

FANS OF Goldhawk will be aware of the Western Region Audiovisual Producers (WRAP) Fund thanks to the nascent body’s first funding decision – €200,000 for the Element Pictures project Calm With Horses (see The Phoenix, 4/5/18). That award to an adaptation of a Mike McCormack story was done and dusted before the WRAP had even… Read more »

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Richard O'Brien

NAAS’S LUCK OF THE DRAW

Date: May 16, 2019 - Sport of Kings

WITH CURRENT Naas Racecourse manager Tom Ryan about to head off to the Middle East to take up an advisory role within Saudi Arabia’s racing industry, the next Naas manager will be faced with an increasingly thorny issue when he or she takes up the baton. Since the flat season kicked off at Naas in… Read more »

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Barry Connell

BARRY CONNELL’S NEW NAGS

Date: May 16, 2019 - Sport of Kings

ONE JUMPS owner whose enthusiasm has been tested in the latest season is Barry Connell. After a disastrous performance that yielded only seven winners – his worst in 10 years – Connell seems undeterred, having just invested heavily in new blood at the Goffs Punchestown Sale. Fans of Goldhawk will be familiar with the trials… Read more »

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Chris Hayes

HAYES OUT FOR THE COUNT

Date: May 16, 2019 - Sport of Kings

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) introduced more stringent whip rules recently and jockeys, especially those riding on the flat have been finding it tough to adapt to the new regime. Since the first week of April, the maximum number of strikes permitted has been reduced to eight. If a rider exceeds that number, a… Read more »

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Michael O'Leary

O’LEARY’S QUIET LANDING

Date: May 16, 2019 - Sport of Kings

DESPITE BEING crowned leading jumps owners for the fifth year in a row, Mick O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud had a rather poor Punchestown Festival, welcoming back just two winners from 42 runners over the five days. One of the Gigginstown wins did come in a Grade 1, courtesy of future Cheltenham Gold Cup hope Delta… Read more »

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Eamonn Rothwell

CHOPPY WATERS IN STORE FOR ROTHWELL’S ICG

Date: May 16, 2019 - Moneybags

LAST YEAR was a bad one for Eamonn “Rottweiler” Rothwell’s Irish Continental Group (ICG). He is now looking to bounce back, but the shares will remain on a demanding price-earnings multiple at a time when competition is heating up on the Irish Sea. By deciding to add significant extra capacity in these circumstances, the ICG… Read more »

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JAMES KEARNEY’S ‘UNDUE INFLUENCE’

Date: May 16, 2019 - Briefcases

A JUDGMENT for €98,000 has just been registered by AIB against a small property vehicle, Rostaff Developments Ltd. This is the Galway construction outfit, controlled by Ballinasloe builder James Kearney, that was at the centre of a headline-grabbing High Court spat with the bank a couple of years ago. In 2015, AIB sued Rostaff as… Read more »

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Simon Kennedy

SIMON KENNEDY’S ‘BATTLEGROUND’

Date: May 16, 2019 - Briefcases

THERE WAS more woe for colourful Wexford solicitor Simon Kennedy in the High Court recently concerning his scrap with a bank over an €800,000 debt. It has been a case of all hands on deck for the former legal eagle since being declared bankrupt in the High Court in 2012 and his suspension from practice… Read more »

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MYLES CROFTON’S BOOM-ERA BUDDY

Date: May 16, 2019 - Briefcases

DUBLIN developer Myles Crofton’s comeback is well and truly under way. The Irish Times reported this month that he has applied for permission to demolish his 11,300sq ft Blackrock mansion, Renesca, and replace it with a five-storey apartment block. Elsewhere, he has been making moves with fellow boom-time property player Bernard Doyle. Crofton first appeared… Read more »

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TOP MARKS FOR RM

Date: May 16, 2019 - Briefcases

SPARE A thought for Michael and Brendan Kelly’s KPW Print operation in Ballinasloe, which has missed out on a contract with the State Examinations Commission (SEC). It will be recalled (see The Phoenix, 8/3/19) that the Kellys brought judicial review proceedings, challenging a decision by the SEC to award the contract for scanning and online… Read more »

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Maria Walshe

WALSH-MCGUINNESS SHOOT OUT

Date: May 2, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

THE BLUEBLOUSE EU candidate in the Midlands-North-West (MNW), Maria Walsh, proved she is no wilting Tralee Rose with a retaliatory broadside against her running mate, Máiréad McGuinness, following the MEP’s recent incursion into her territory. But while Maria showed adept skills in the dark arts… Read more »

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DER KAISER’S INDO DEAL

Date: May 2, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

ALTHOUGH IT was Goldhawk who first revealed that Denis O’Brien wanted to sell up at Independent News & Media (see The Phoenix 8/2/19), the nature of the agreed exit deal is far more gobsmacking than imagined. The shareholders are rightly pissed off, but at least Dermot Desmond is avoiding the worst of the pain. Many… Read more »

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Calre Daly

PROFILE: CLARE DALY TD

Date: May 2, 2019 - Pillars of Society

CLARE DALY’S EU election bid in Dublin – as well as her political and personal partner Mick Wallace TD’s outing in the South constituency – has added excitement to a relatively mundane campaign. Senator Alice Mary Higgins’s candidacy grabbed the enthusiastic attention of the Irish… Read more »

Cathal Haughey

YOUNG BLOOD: CATHAL HAUGHEY

Date: May 2, 2019 - The Young Bloods

There is an old saying that it only takes three generations to ruin a family business. Cathal Haughey (22) will be hoping it’s just a tired cliché when he makes his electoral debut later this month as a Fianna Fáil candidate for Dublin City Council in the Clontarf electoral area. Although technically among the fourth… Read more »

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Hermann Kelly

PETER CASEY AND HERMANN KELLY

Date: May 2, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

HAVE THOSE soul brothers on the right of Irish politics, EU candidates Peter Casey (Midlands North-West – MNW) and Hermann Kelly (Dublin) had a split already? Or is it that Peter has a little more nous than Hermann, who is the founder and driving force of The Irish Freedom Party? There was a time when… Read more »

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