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Freddie Scappaticci

STAKEKNIFE ‘A FICTION’

Date: January 24, 2019 - Hush Hush

THE UK government’s multimillion pound Stakeknife investigation was thrown into disarray last week after its most controversial storyline was described as a “fiction”. The head of Operation Kenova, Jon Boutcher, who has been tasked with leading the Stakeknife investigation, met victims’ Belfast solicitor Michael Brentnall… Read more »

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PADDY PRENDERGAST’S PROJECT

Date: January 24, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

NOT FOR the first time, Trinity College Dublin students are expressing their dissatisfaction with Provost Paddy Prendergast and his administration (see The Phoenix, 21/4/17, 9/3/18, 23/3/18 etc). This time the row is over the Trinity Education Project (TEP), a major revamp of the college’s undergraduate calendar and curriculum. Introduced during the current academic term, students… Read more »

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Brippa

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: January 24, 2019 - The Hot Air Brigade

Brian Ormond and Pippa O’Connor, meanwhile, were in Dubai for 10 days just after Christmas. Looking fresh and tanned, Brippa were in the InterContinental Hotel in Ballsbridge last Monday. Barry Egan, ‘The Edge’, Sunday Independent A shower should be under three minutes – I favour 90 seconds myself. And the bar of soap is having… Read more »

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Martina Anderson

VARADKAR LEAVES NORTHERNERS BEHIND

Date: January 24, 2019 - Bird's Eye View

THE OBSESSION with the backstop on the British border in Ireland continues to paralyse the Conservative party in England. Most MPs, both Conservative and Labour, seem to wilfully misunderstand its purpose and rationale. They also forget that it was Theresa May who asked for the whole UK to be included in the backstop as a… Read more »

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Janice Boylan Irish Military Mali Coolock Says No IFP Hermann Kelly Timmy Dooley Aontú Mal O’Hara Fintan O’Toole Josepha Madigan Eoghan Harris Ukraine War Micheál Martin Middle East Philip Ryan Seán Clancy Simon Coveney Hugo MacNeill Mountbatten Neasa Hourigan Green Party Martin NPT Ivana Bacik Independents Limerick Hospital Overcrowding Barry Cowen

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S THREE AMIGOS

Date: January 24, 2019 - Last Refuge

THE SPECTACLE of three senior Fianna Fáil frontbenchers scrambling for places on the European election ticket in the South constituency says a lot about any future FF-led coalition government. Until about 12 months ago, Billy Kelleher, Timmy Dooley and Barry Cowen were part of Martin’s Praetorian Guard in the parliamentary party. However, the lads have… Read more »

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Heather Humphreys

FINE GAEL VS TICKET TOUTS

Date: January 24, 2019 - Last Refuge

THE GOVERNMENT’S effort to slay ticket touts – on street corners around Croker and the reselling of concert tickets online – is certainly a popular(ist) move, but it faces some interesting political arguments inside Fine Gael. FG Tory boy Noel Rock initiated the move – with support from Fianna Fáil’s Stephen Donnelly, then in the… Read more »

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Tiernan Brady

TIERNAN BRADY’S RACE

Date: January 24, 2019 - Last Refuge

THE DUBLIN Fianna Fáil Euro nomination contest is tightening, with gay campaigner Tiernan Brady narrowly in front. However, ex-minister and party grandee Barry Andrews is making ground, according to most party insiders. Another ex-minister, Conor Lenihan, is in third place, while Mary Hanafin is not at the races. Brady’s forte has been his presentations to… Read more »

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Sheila Nunan

LABOUR’S MOVEABLE VALUES

Date: January 24, 2019 - Last Refuge

LABOUR LEADER Brendan Howlin’s wheeze in sponsoring outgoing INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan as a European election candidate in Ireland South could provoke a backlash from some members at the selection convention next month. While Nunan and Howlin have already sealed what some might call a Faustian Pact, former Clare TD Michael McNamara, a rival… Read more »

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Pat Leahy

SDLP MEDIA SPIN

Date: January 24, 2019 - Fit to Print?

A CASE STUDY in how a political agenda is manufactured and disseminated via the media – whether or not it is factual – came in the paper of record’s eager coverage over the new year of the imminent merger of Fianna Fáil and the SDLP. Irish Times Northern editor Gerry Moriarty’s New Year’s Eve message… Read more »

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Shane Ross

SHANE ROSS’S MEDIA CRITICS

Date: January 24, 2019 - Fit to Print?

THE DISSING of Shane Ross by his Fine Gael cabinet ‘colleagues’, normally given a loud airing by FG’s media Greek chorus, recommenced last week following the transport minister’s supposed ‘gaffe’ about border checks in the event of a no-deal Brexit. But the Irish Independent’s heavyweight pol corrs, as well as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, gave the… Read more »

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Richard Bruton

‘STAR’S’ NEW REGIME

Date: January 24, 2019 - Fit to Print?

NEWS THAT the Indo group is embarking on another round of cuts has caused yet more gnashing of teeth among the hapless hacks. One title that may emerge relatively unscathed is the 50%-owned Irish Daily Star, where communications minister Richard Bruton has quietly given the final green light to the purchase of Richard Desmond’s 50%… Read more »

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RICHARD BRUTON’S OIL SLICK

Date: January 24, 2019 - Fowl Emissions

IS SOMEONE trying to hobble new climate action and environment minister Richard Bruton? He has taken to his new portfolio with gusto, including a no-nonsense speech at his ‘stakeholder summit’ in Croke Park this month. The meeting kicked off at 9am on January 18 but, just one hour earlier, Seán Canney, junior minister at Bruton’s… Read more »

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Bog Cuttings

BOG CUTTINGS

Date: January 24, 2019 - Bog Cuttings

CANNABIS WAS ‘ORNAMENT’ A LISNAKEA man who had cannabis on his wall when his house was searched said it was an ornament. Mark Kiernan (43) of Trasna Way appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a Class B drug. Police searched Kiernan’s home on December 9 and… Read more »

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Alsion Cowzer

ALISON’S BAD LUCK

Date: January 24, 2019 - High Society

SO FAREWELL then to Magpie magazine, where the directors, including Alison Cowzer, have got around to winding up the company behind the short-lived title. Looks like a case of ‘one for sorrow’. Cowzer, a former marketing exec, is quite the high-flyer these days, popping up on the boards of the Goal and Ronald McDonald House… Read more »

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Laragh Stuart

LARAGH STUART’S NEW YEAR

Date: January 24, 2019 - High Society

A CREDITORS’ meeting this week at Stuart and McClean Ltd is bad news for anyone on a New Year healthy-eating kick. This turns out to be the loss-making entity behind Wicklow gourmand Laragh Stuart’s food business, which she co-owns with one Hazel McClean. Having been, the company website explains, “inspired by her formative years, travelling… Read more »

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Domini Kemp

IN THE RING WITH DOMINI

Date: January 24, 2019 - High Society

LAST WEEKEND, celebrity chef Domini Kemp tweeted, “calling all women boxing fans”, announcing that she is writing an article and “would love to talk to anyone who has recently taken it up as a sport”. This is a departure for the blonde ‘bagel queen’, who appears to also be involved in some friendly sparring with… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

ROBERT BALLAGH’S ART PROBLEM

Date: January 24, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

THE OUTBREAK of tut-tutting over Robert Ballagh’s complaint about the lack of Irish players at the top of many cultural institutions here was utterly predictable. Ballagh, however, has first-hand experience of the challenges faced by local artists, courtesy of his interactions with the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI), where British art historian Sean Rainbird has… Read more »

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James Hickey

AFTER JAMES HICKEY AT SCREEN IRELAND

Date: January 24, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

ON A rare joint appearance on radio with Screen Ireland (SI) chair Annie Doona, the agency’s outgoing chief executive, James Hickey, told RTÉ that his keenest interest in the film business was working with “talent”. It’s the kind of luvvie answer that the affable Hickey… Read more »

Andrew McNamara

McNAMARA DROPS THE BALL

Date: January 24, 2019 - Sport of Kings

FORMER JOCKEY Andrew McNamara, who combines training with his role on the RTÉ racing team, was recently a guest on Off The Ball’s weekly Newstalk horseracing show. He used the platform to highlight the worth of a horse he was planning to run at Dundalk that week. Things didn’t quite work out as planned however…. Read more »

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Luke Comer Ban

UPS AND DOWNS FOR COMER

Date: January 24, 2019 - Sport of Kings

IT’S BEEN a mixed start to the year for Luke Comer. The trainer enjoyed an early New Year winner when Mystique Heights won at Naas, but the joy of that success was short-lived when it transpired that Comer had recently lost Zonderland, an expensive purchase in Britain last autumn. The horse cost Comer 140,000gns at… Read more »

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Richard FitzGerald

RICHARD FITZGERALD’S PRIORITIES

Date: January 24, 2019 - Sport of Kings

THE SWITCH of live Irish racing from At The Races (ATR) to Racing TV has generated plenty of negative commentary since the beginning of the year. Despite assurances from Horse Racing Ireland head honcho Brian Kavanagh that the move is good for Irish racing, many feel the sport is not nearly as well served as… Read more »

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Eddie O'Leary

SOFTLY DOES IT AT LEOPARDSTOWN

Date: January 24, 2019 - Sport of Kings

WITH LITTLE rain forecast for February’s Dublin Racing Festival and with almost unprecedented firm ground conditions for jumps horses at this time of year, the Leopardstown track management may come under pressure to water the ground if sufficient rain fails to materialise. With Cheltenham just five weeks after the February 2-3 festival, many owners and… Read more »

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Willie Walsh

IAG SHARES BETTER VALUE THAN RYANAIR

Date: January 24, 2019 - Moneybags

WILLIE WALSH’S International Airlines Group (IAG) is the most profitable airline group in the world, having returned an operating profit of over €3bn last year. Within this huge group, Aer Lingus (where Wash was forced out) is now the single most profitable airline. When compared with the other big kid on the block, Ryanair, which… Read more »

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Seán Doyle

SEÁN DOYLE IS NOT ENTERTAINED

Date: January 24, 2019 - Briefcases

MORE woe for Wexford businessman Seán Doyle, whose hospitality company has just filed a troubling set of accounts. The serial entrepreneur and former shareholder in the Thomas Read pub group will be familiar to fans of Goldhawk for his various scraps with the taxman as well as developer Greg Kavanagh (see The Phoenix, 15/12/17). Through… Read more »

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Hot Water Brigade default

NYHAN BROTHERS FOR THE CHOP?

Date: January 24, 2019 - Briefcases

CREDITORS of a South Dublin butcher business, which was voluntarily wound up in 2014, are starting to get antsy about the lengthy liquidation process. The good news for them is that a settlement agreement has been filed in the High Court in relation to the company – Rostella Properties Ltd, which traded as Nyhan Brothers… Read more »

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Hot Water Brigade default

NAUGHTY NUMBERCRUNCHERS

Date: January 24, 2019 - Briefcases

A COUPLE of accountants have got 2019 off on the wrong foot after falling foul of the Chartered Accountants Ireland’s (CAI’s) Disciplinary Tribunal. Just before Christmas, James A Kiernan, who practised as Kiernan & Co chartered accountants in Carrighrohane, Co Cork, was reprimanded and fined by the tribunal. He was found in breach of regulation… Read more »

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Des Coffey

DES COFFEY’S TAXING TIMES

Date: January 24, 2019 - Briefcases

GOLDHAWK had a case of déjà vu recently when he saw that his old pal, restaurateur Desmond Coffey, had fallen foul of the taxman once again. The Revenue has filed a petition in the High Court, due to be heard early next week, to have a company called Farm Food Emporium Ltd wound up. This… Read more »

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David Ronan

DAVID RONAN’S ‘AGREED FACTS’

Date: January 24, 2019 - Briefcases

IT’S SQUEAKY-BUM time for former CTO Greenclean Ltd operators David Ronan and Stephen Griffin, whose High Court showdown with liquidator Myles Kirby will kick off later this year. That case has been moving at a glacial pace since 2011 but, happily, Judge Tony O’Connor has paved the way for a 2019 trial. Liquidator Kirby is… Read more »

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Eamon Waters

EAMON WATERS’ RUBBISH PROBLEM

Date: January 24, 2019 - Briefcases

IRELAND’S largest waste management firm, Panda Waste, has been coining it recently, so it was very surprising to see a judgment registered against it by a factory operative who took the company to the High Court and won his personal injuries claim late last year. Tomasz Zdejszy sued his employer, Stewart Foil Ltd, and Panda… Read more »

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Hot Water Brigade default

MOSHAN BARI’S TAX BILL

Date: January 24, 2019 - Briefcases

SPARE a thought for Sandyford businessman Moshan Bari, who has just had a judgment for €36,000 registered against him by the dreaded taxman, who he has had run-ins with in the past. Bari and his family once ran a chain of Häagen-Dazs ice-cream cafés in Dublin as well as the Japan and Angel fashion outlets,… Read more »

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Ann Mulrooney

ANN MULROONEY’S SUCCESSOR

Date: January 24, 2019 - Behind the Scenes

THE HUNT is under way for a new chief executive/artistic director for the VISUAL contemporary arts centre in Carlow, which continues to struggle financially. The incumbent for the previous five years, Ann Mulrooney, has now succeeded Lynn Scarff as director of Science Gallery Dublin. The latest arrival on the Kathleen Holohan-chaired board at VISUAL is… Read more »

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Aidan Brogan

DATALEX’S TURBULENCE SHOULD NOT SHOCK

Date: January 24, 2019 - Moneybags

AIDAN BROGAN, the CEO of Datalex, is in real trouble, but fans of The Phoenix may not be too shocked. Moneybags has previously questioned the firm’s accounting procedures and identified that the market was already seriously overvaluing Datalex (see The Phoenix, 26/1/18). The worry for… Read more »

Eileen Battersby

EILEEN BATTERSBY’S LITERARY LUVVIES

Date: January 10, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

THE OUTPOURINGS from literati in the Irish Times and elsewhere following the death of literary correspondent Eileen Battersby disguised the tensions that existed at the newspaper between Battersby and literary editor Fintan O’Toole, as well as others. Such was her sense of grievance that, at one point, Battersby drew in the National Union of Journalists… Read more »

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Mary Robinson

MARY ROBINSON’S CREDENTIALS

Date: January 10, 2019 - Affairs of the Nation

MOST OBSERVERS have been baffled by Mary Robinson’s blunder in giving cover to the feudal Emirates ruling family and noticed the irony of ‘feminist’ Robinson’s blasé reference to her old friend, Princess Haya, as “one of the wives of the UAE prime minister”. But despite her carefully nurtured persona as one who cares for the… Read more »

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Micheál Martin

PROFILE: MICHEÁL MARTIN

Date: January 10, 2019 - Pillars of Society

AMID ALL the heady talk of a “phased integration” of the North’s SDLP with Fianna Fáil, the question being asked is will this act of desperation breathe life back into the moribund corpse of the North’s constitutional nationalist party? More importantly, will it give a boost to a flagging Fianna Fáil south of the border… Read more »

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Sarah Durcan

YOUNG BLOOD: SARAH DURCAN

Date: January 10, 2019 - The Young Bloods

THE SOCIAL Democrats are all at sea. These days the party tends to float around the 2% mark in the national polls, but went down to 0% as recently as last October. It is banking on high-flying candidates such as Sarah Durcan in Dublin Bay South (DBS) to bring it to shore at the next… Read more »

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