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Dearbhail McDonald

TROUBLE AT INM SHOCK!

Date: February 21, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

AS IF there were not enough industrial relations problems at the Irish Independent and other INM titles (slashed budgets, compulsory redundancies etc), a serious clash has occurred between the Indo’s editor, Fionnan Sheahan, and its group business editor, Dearbhail McDonald. McDonald has lodged a bullying claim against Sheahan and has compiled a catalogue of alleged… Read more »

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Helen McEntee

PROFILE – FG’S HELEN MCENTEE

Date: February 21, 2019 - Pillars of Society

THE PRESENTABLE and quietly assured woman seen accompanying Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at almost every meeting with EU power brokers is minister for Europe Helen McEntee. She is also trotted out for second-tier media interviews to explain the government’s Brexit strategy, but has more recently graduated to defending Ireland against British media jibes about the impertinent… Read more »

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Rob Lipsett

YOUNG BLOOD: ROB LIPSETT

Date: February 21, 2019 - The Young Bloods

FITNESS FREAK Rob Lipsett (27) is one of the beautiful people. In the era of Instagram models and unrealistic body standards, the lantern-jawed former bodybuilder and internet entrepreneur has amassed an impressive cross-platform audience for his training guides, diet tips and assorted titbits of lifestyle advice. With his new book, The Rob Lipsett Game Plan,… Read more »

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Michael O'Leary

TIME FOR O’LEARY TO DISEMBARK AT RYANAIR

Date: February 21, 2019 - Moneybags

RYANAIR INVESTORS can’t be happy with the company tailspinning into pre-tax losses of U84m for its quarterly three-month trading to the end of December 2018 compared with a pre-tax profit of €113m in the corresponding period in 2017. At the same time, Ryanair achieved the unenviable status of being voted the worst airline in Europe…. Read more »

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Claire Loftus

CLAIRE LOFTUS’S CRITICS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

SPARE A thought for poor Claire Loftus, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who has had a bruising couple of weeks. Criticism of the DPP by judges is rare enough, although the DPP’s office did get something of a pasting over the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank boss Seán Fitzpatrick – an issue back… Read more »

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Ruthie Heatherington

RUTHIE H’S SKINNY TEA

Date: February 21, 2019 - High Society

SPARE A thought for super fit entrepreneur Ruth Hetherington, whose health and fitness brand of teas and coffees has fallen foul of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). She is in the process of winding up her Miss Fit Enterprises company, but Goldhawk suspects it won’t be long before ‘Ruthie H’ bounces back. Earlier… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

NEIL MURRAY’S TACTICS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

ALMOST A month after the Abbey Theatre found itself the star of yet another offstage drama, courtesy of a critical letter signed by hundreds of disgruntled luvvies, progress has proved very slow and patience is wearing thin. After the meeting that took place on February 1 between 14 of the signatories and Abbey co-director Neil… Read more »

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Rachel Weisz

THE OIRISH FAVOURITE

Date: February 21, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

SUNDAY’S OSCARS look certain to feature The Favourite heavily and the green jersey has been very much in evidence in recent weeks, especially given the estimated $76m (and counting) at the global box office. After this month’s Baftas, the Irish Times ran a piece headlined “Irish production wins seven awards”, despite one of them being… Read more »

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Sheila Pratschke

REGIME CHANGE ON MERRION SQUARE

Date: February 21, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

WATCH OUT for an advert seeking to fill vacancies in the Arts Council. Given that the most important seat to be filled on Merrion Square is that of chair Sheila Pratschke, whose term ends next week, culture minister Josepha Madigan is leaving it late in the day if she intends to throw the net wide…. Read more »

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3704-FP

Vol 37 No 04

Date: February 21, 2019 -

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Simon Coveney

SIMON COVENEY’S PRIORITIES

Date: February 21, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

WITH THE children’s hospital overrun grabbing headlines for the last month, the contractors, BAM, are at the centre of a media storm. This is uncomfortable for Simon Coveney, who has been a prominent supporter of a multimillion euro event centre planned for Cork, where BAM… Read more »

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DEALING WITH CYRIL BURKE

Date: February 21, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

FINE GAEL’S executive council must grapple with a delicate issue in the next few weeks as controversial Mayo county councillor, Cyril Burke, requires to be dealt with on two fronts. Watchdog SIPO ruled that Cyril had acted “recklessly” when dealing with Independent councillor Frank Durcan in rezoning issues, although no personal gain was alleged. But… Read more »

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Mary Hanafin

STOP THAT WOMAN HANAFIN!

Date: February 21, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

BARRY ANDREWS’S formidable, family political machine was a big factor in his Fianna Fáil convention victory for the Dublin Euro ticket last Sunday, but Mary Hanafin played an unintentional part in his victory. Just how helpful the FF leadership was to gay activist Tiernan Brady is hard to gauge, but certainly Micheál Martin et al… Read more »

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RONAN KEATING’S CORPORATE PAL

Date: February 21, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

WITH BOYZONE winding down their farewell tour, which concludes in Dubai (natch) in April, hopefully lead singer Ronan Keating will not be overly distracted by news that his pal, Andrew Tinkler, has come a cropper in the UK High Court. Tinkler had been fired as chief executive of the UK-listed transport/infrastructure company Stobart (which operates… Read more »

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Freddie Scappaticci

STAKEKNIFE AN RUC CONSTRUCT

Date: February 21, 2019 - Hush Hush

THE EPIC John Le Carré-type tale about super spy ‘Stakeknife’, aka Fred Scappaticci, was last week seriously challenged by Operation Kenova, the team tasked to investigate the Stakeknife saga. Kenova’s head, senior British police office Jon Boutcher, has stated that the ‘name swap’ story attached… Read more »

Jeremy Corbyn

BRITISH SPOOKS TARGET VARADKAR

Date: February 21, 2019 - Hush Hush

The anarchist ‘Hacktivist’ group Anonymous continues to leak details of a disinformation campaign run jointly by the UK’s Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence, known as the ‘Integrity Initiative’. Its targets have not only included British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his communications director, Seumas Milne, but also our own Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. In cyberwar… Read more »

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Louis Hoffman

THE ‘BURKEAN JOURNAL’S’ GENETICS PROBLEM

Date: February 21, 2019 - Student Life

Oh dear, it looks like the Burkean Journal has lost its way. The right-wing journal – founded by Trinity College students to combat the supremacy of the damn blasted left on campus – is currently mired in a controversy that has seen some of its founders and high-profile cheerleaders withdraw support. Fans of Goldhawk will… Read more »

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SORCHA RYDER’S HEADACHES

Date: February 21, 2019 - Student Life

TRINITY debating society president Sorcha Ryder is having a term of office to forget. Fresh from the controversy over the sudden decision to disinvite prominent Israel critic Norman Finkelstein (see The Phoenix, 8/2/19), her society, The Phil, has come in for more negative publicity. This time, the Trinners students have had to issue a grovelling… Read more »

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: February 21, 2019 - The Hot Air Brigade

But what the congresswoman’s post shows is how, in the past two years, the concept of skincare has changed beyond all recognition. The Irish Times on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s skin routine Instagram post I was somewhat inspired by the movie Zulu, where Michael Caine looked so amazing in his red army jacket and his blond hair…. Read more »

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Declan O’Loan

TOWN HALL BUN FIGHTS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Bird's Eye View

Simon Coveney had to travel north from the All-Island Civic Dialogue on 15 February to participate in what Mary Lou McDonald called a “sham” at Stormont. The northern secretary, Karen Bradley, had called the northern parties together to discuss – nothing much. There seemed to be no other reason except that it was exactly a… Read more »

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SINN FÉIN GOES BACK TO BASICS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Last Refuge

SINN FÉIN is still struggling in the polls following its disastrous presidential campaign and appears to have reverted to harder, more Republican and leftist policies following a fractious post mortem. The post mortem was held under the vigilant eye of that old soldier Martin Ferris TD, a long-time member of the leadership, who led a… Read more »

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Frank O'Rourke

FRANK O’ROURKE TD: SIMPLY THE BEST

Date: February 21, 2019 - Last Refuge

“IF A cow calved in Ardclough, Frank would claim to be its father” is how Kildare Independent councillor Bernard Caldwell described Kildare North Fianna Fáil TD Frank O’Rourke’s inimitable public relations campaign last September. That was after Frank beat all other councillors to the media punch when claiming credit for improvements to the bridge in… Read more »

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Willie O'Dea

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S STRATEGY

Date: February 21, 2019 - Last Refuge

SIGNS OF establishment anxiety about the government’s durability were visible last weekend and they were not eased with a poll that showed Fine Gael holding on 30%, but Leo Varadkar flatlining on 39% personal satisfaction. This indicates that discontent with FG could be imminent, especially when one drills down into the sectoral figures in the… Read more »

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Danny Healy-Rae

FINE GAEL FLEES FROM HEALY-RAES

Date: February 21, 2019 - Last Refuge

DANNY HEALY-RAE’S clownish antics on climate change and sundry issues are beginning to wear thin, even amongst the family’s large fan base in the Kingdom, but Fine Gael is still running scared of the TD and his brother, Michael, also a TD. Dublin HQ had been looking for a candidate in the northern part of… Read more »

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Vincent Browne

VINCENT BROWNE’S LIBEL FEUDS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Fit to Print?

FORMER justice minister Paddy Cooney (88 next month) has received comforting financial compensation and a measure of vindication arising from his serial litigation involving stories penned by provocative journalist Vincent Browne. A short notice in the Irish Times recently stated that Cooney had settled his libel action against the newspaper and Browne following an article… Read more »

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

BOYCOTTING BETHANY

Date: February 21, 2019 - Fit to Print?

THE VIRTUAL boycott of the Bethany Homes scandal (over 200 babies died there in the first 27 years of the state) by the media, the Irish Times in particular, is baffling. Despite saturation coverage of Catholic institutions and their role in the abuse of children down the years, the IT’s failure to scrutinise the same… Read more »

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Paddy Agnew

‘IRISH TIMES’ HUBRIS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Fit to Print?

THE TRIUMPHAL tone of Irish Times managing director Liam Kavanagh’s recent message to staff declaring victory over its Rome correspondent Paddy Agnew’s unfair dismissal case may be a bit previous. The judge’s ruling in Italy’s version of the Labour Court was based on Agnew’s failure to continue membership of the Italian register of professional journalists… Read more »

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Greta Thunberg

KIDS 4 CLIMATE

Date: February 21, 2019 - Fowl Emissions

MINISTERS HAVE been talking a good fight on tackling climate change recently. On the other hand, actual policies to make this happen are as transparently threadbare as the emperor’s new robes in the Hans Christian Anderson tale. As leaders in Ireland and around the world… Read more »

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OIL PAINTINGS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Fowl Emissions

An interesting sidebar to the ongoing debacle over the National Children’s Hospital has been the state’s decision to turn down giving naming rights to the Ronald McDonald charity to help fund the building of family accommodation adjacent to the hospital. It’s unsurprising that having a junk food corporation sponsor any aspect of a children’s hospital… Read more »

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Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Bog Cuttings

RANTED AT OFFICERS A SON of a garda called gardaí “cunts”, “bastards” and “faggots” in the seaside resort of Lahinch last November. At Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan described Finbarr O’Leary’s behaviour in the early hours of November 17 as “absolutely reprehensible”. Outlining the facts, Sgt Aidan Lonergan told Judge Durcan that O’Leary –… Read more »

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Ali Barker

ALI BARKER’S DAY IN COURT

Date: February 21, 2019 - High Society

THERE WERE sighs of relief last week when a long-running, high-stakes legal action between a separated couple was settled after the opening day in court. With the meter ticking since 2011, this was presumably the best outcome for all concerned. Goldhawk was interested to see that one half of the couple turns out to be… Read more »

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Consuelo O’Connor

MARTIN JOYCE’S PILE

Date: February 21, 2019 - High Society

AN IMPRESSIVE pile in Sandymount D4, previously owned by TP McKenna, has gone on the market with a hefty €3m price tag. The vendors are Martin and Joyce Henihan. The former is a well known name in architectural circles and has also been involved in a rather less lucrative property venture. Sandymount, however, is a… Read more »

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Fionnuala Flanagan

TAXMAN STARS IN ARTHOUSE DRAMA

Date: February 21, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

JUST WHEN the dust seemed to have settled on Galway’s dalliance with ‘cultural cinema’ – the bijou Pálás art house having been folded at considerable public cost into Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe’s Element empire – it turns out that a sequel, involving the Lelia Doolan-chaired Solas-Galway Picture Palace Company, may be in the offing…. Read more »

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Bryan Cooper

COOPER CUT LOOSE

Date: February 21, 2019 - Sport of Kings

BRYAN COOPER’S stint as first jockey to Chris Jones was certainly short-lived, with the association coming to an end just before the Dublin Racing Festival. Cooper had only joined forces with Jones in November and, while the partnership got off to a reasonable start with a win on board the promising Coeur Sublime at Down… Read more »

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Sean Mulryan

MULRYAN TARGETS BALLYMORE

Date: February 21, 2019 - Sport of Kings

COMEBACK KID Sean Mulryan – once again a major player in the national hunt owners’ league – took another step forward recently when he enjoyed a weekend double at his local tracks of Naas and Punchestown. More significantly for Mulryan, one of his winners, City Island, now looks good enough to tackle his owner’s own… Read more »

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jim-bolger

JIM BOLGER’S TWO YEAR OLDS

Date: February 21, 2019 - Sport of Kings

SOME EYEBROWS were raised a few years ago when Jim Bolger sent around 20 of his mares to be covered by little-known stallion Fracas, who stands at Joe Joyce’s Cahermorris Stables in Galway. The sceptics will have their predictions put to the test in the… Read more »