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Hot Water Brigade default

WILL DOWLING’S LANGUAGE PROBLEM

Date: November 29, 2018 - Brief Cases

WITH LOTS of businesses seeking a slice of the growing English-language tuition sector, there have been a few casualties. One entity that has now sought the protection of the courts is Oscars International School, which has been operating on Dublin’s Dame Street opposite the old Central Bank HQ. Owned by chief executive Will Dowling and… Read more »

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PADDY MCKILLEN’S PROFITS

Date: November 29, 2018 - Brief Cases

WHILE THE media has increasingly focused on the ubiquitous Paddy McKillen jnr’s exhausting expansion of the Press Up group, behind the scenes his dad, moneybags Paddy McKillen snr, continues to have a major say in affairs. Indeed, the latter is the ultimate controlling party in the McKillen group of companies and the money continues to… Read more »

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Sonya Lennon

SONYA LENNON’S MANY HATS

Date: November 29, 2018 - Brief Cases

WITH MOVES being made to introduce gender-based professorships in universities and the news agenda increasingly featuring discussions about the level of female participation in assorted sectors, it is clear that this issue is gaining momentum. One woman who has been an active in the campaign is Sonya Lennon, who also has a tech company to… Read more »

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Eoghan Murphy

POSH BOY MURPHY’S NOBLESS OBLIGE

Date: November 27, 2018 - Pillars of Society

FOR ALL his Leo-style skinny neck ties and multifarious photo ops of him emerging à la the Man from Atlantis from muscle-rippling sea swims, there is something innately Dickensian about Eoghan Robert Murphy. Maybe it’s his lush beard. Maybe it’s his mannered elocution or his cut-glass law library lineage. One thing it certainly cannot be… Read more »

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Leo Varadkar

DR VARADKAR’S DILEMMA

Date: November 15, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has been defended by his party colleagues as a doctor with experience of management practice in the health service after yet another PR howler attacking medics for taking holidays at Christmas and New Year. But given the angry response from health workers and public alike, Vlad still found it necessary to pen… Read more »

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Queen Elizabeth

IVY’S PR BLITZ

Date: November 15, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

SOME rather ingratiating advertisements appeared in the national dailies recently, thanking Irish customers of The Ivy restaurant, the ritzy eatery that opened in Dublin’s Molesworth Street in the summer. It thanked Irish customers “for the great welcome” it had received, saying that it was “extremely important to us that we became part of the local… Read more »

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Paul Williams

PAUL WILLIAMS’S EXIT

Date: November 15, 2018 - Fit to Print?

NEWSTALK BREAKFAST’S joint host, Paul Williams, met with managing editor Patricia Monahan last Thursday and, following a fraught discussion, it was agreed that the next morning’s programme would be his last. The manner of his exit reflected the mutual dissatisfaction between Williams and station bosses over the last year as listenership declined and stalled. When… Read more »

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Jamie Heaslip

LOVIN MEDIA’S SAUDI LOVE IN

Date: November 15, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

Irish businessman Emmet O’Neill must be shocked at some of the articles being published by Lovin Saudi, a franchise of his Lovin Media Group. Lovin’s expansion into Saudi Arabia was announced by group managing director Trevor Daly last year. The Saudi franchise is operated by a separate company, Augustus Holdings, a Dubai-headquartered entity fronted by… Read more »

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Brian Hayes

LOST LEADER BRIAN HAYES

Date: November 15, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

RICHARD BRUTON is the man that effectively blocked MEP Brian Hayes’s planned route back to the top in national politics. But judging by his recent remarks on Irish banks, the MEP charted another route – to the Irish banking sector – in jig time. No Irish MEP has ever sustained such a strong a domestic… Read more »

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SHARON BANNERTON’S NEUTRALITY

Date: November 15, 2018 - Hush Hush

THERE HAS not been much love shown by the media to presidential runner-up Peter Casey. Even the normally cuddly Ryan Tubridy got his claws out for the interview on The Late Late Show. While the host’s performance raised eyebrows and drew a significant number of complaints from viewers, the interview was particularly bruising for the… Read more »

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ARAMARK RATTLED

Date: November 15, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

Is food services giant Aramark starting to panic about the boycott of its cafes and restaurants by students at the University of Limerick (UL)? It certainly looks that way. The US company admitted to student newspaper An Focal that its employees distributed leaflets on the Castletroy campus recently, in response to growing student discontent with… Read more »

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Karan O'Loughlin

JOHN ARKINS’S HEADACHE

Date: November 15, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

THE TIMING of Prime Time’s recent breathless exposé of the Irish film industry was less than perfect for the Irish Film Workers Association (IFWA), the ‘union’ that has been getting a lot of traction since its appearance before Peadar Tóibín’s Oireachtas culture committee earlier this… Read more »

Dermot Desmond

MARKING DERMO’S CARD

Date: November 15, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

WHAT AN extravagant splash the Sunday Business Post published on the “Billionaire investor. Media mogul. IFSC visionary… patriot and a fearsome litigant”, Dermot Desmond, last weekend. The massive, trillion-word feature by Barry Whyte was studious in its check list of ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ side of Desmond, but it is unlikely that… Read more »

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John Downey arriving at the High Court

FORENSIC PURSUIT OF DOWNEY

Date: November 15, 2018 - Hush Hush

THE PSNI’s pursuit of John Downey contrasts with its failure to hunt down those who committed a raft of serious crimes in the same historic period. Especially when it is claimed that forensic evidence has been secured to prosecute Downey. The RUC have said they discovered a piece of tape linking Downey to a car… Read more »

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Vogue Williams

THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: November 15, 2018 - The Hot Air Brigade

Good luck getting me out of this skirt! I can only imagine how cringe it looks when I make Spencer take these pictures of my outfit. Hopefully nobody ever catches us. Tweet by Vogue Williams to her 84,000 followers Writer’s Block is a punchy concoction of Writer’s Tears whiskey, homemade beer syrup and orange bitter…. Read more »

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Theresa May

DUP VS THERESA MAY

Date: November 15, 2018 - Bird's Eye View

“COME YE out from among them and be ye separate and touch not the unclean thing.” St Paul’s injunction from Corinthians was Paisley’s guiding text that led him to establish his Free Presbyterian church. Those who were not ‘saved’ could not be full members. And anyone who does not understand the role of the Free… Read more »

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Eamon Ó Cuív

MARTIN FLEES THE NORTH

Date: November 15, 2018 - Last Refuge

ÉAMON Ó CUÍV and senator Mark Daly have been depicted as mavericks for endorsing Sorcha McAnespy, Independent councillor, as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the north’s local elections. But the two ‘mavericks’ have actually underlined Micheál Martin’s shambolic northern policy. This has seen him pledge – on various occasions since becoming leader seven years ago… Read more »

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Tiernan Brady

FF DUBLIN EURO DOG FIGHT

Date: November 15, 2018 - Last Refuge

TWO Fianna Fáil ‘names’ – Conor Lenihan and Barry Andrews – are jockeying for the party’s Dublin nomination for the European elections. However, they could both be eclipsed by the lesser-known gay activist, Tiernan Brady. With the constituency increasing from three seats to four, the FF nominee will be in with a good chance of… Read more »

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Leslie Buckley

EXITING THE INDO

Date: November 15, 2018 - Fit to Print?

TWO more INM executives shuffled off last week, both of whom held senior positions during recent convulsions at the group. Chief peoples officer Celine Doyle – who previously worked for INM main man Denis O’Brien as regional head of human resources in Digicel’s operation in Asia – is leaving to “pursue interests outside” INM. While… Read more »

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Miriam O'Callaghan

MIRIAM’S MANY MEDIA FANS

Date: November 15, 2018 - Fit to Print?

RSVP magazine was back promoting Miriam O’Callaghan for all its worth this month, with the presenter splashed across the front page under the headline “Miriam – straight from the heart on what really matters”. The latest edition of the mag noted “the 58 year old thrives on her busy lifestyle” and congratulated her on her… Read more »

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Luke Comer Ban

LUKE COMER’S COLTS

Date: November 15, 2018 - Sport of Kings

LUKE COMER’S long-running quest to train a winner continues, but the developer has upped his game recently, spending freely on fresh blood. At the Tattersalls Horses In Training sale recently, Comer invested in two well-bred colts from Aidan O’Brien’s draft in Zabriskie and Freetown. They cost Comer 58,000gns and 14,000gns respectively and, while both are… Read more »

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Christophe Soumillon

WHIPPING UP A STORM

Date: November 15, 2018 - Sport of Kings

AS ANIMAL rights escalate further up the agenda, it looks like racing’s culture is going to have to get its house in order. The use of the whip has always been an emotive topic and, despite the fact that it is no more than a thin piece of foam and doesn’t inflict any pain on… Read more »

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Brendan Duke Adrian Murray Mick Bailey

ELLIOTT BACKS SAMCRO

Date: November 15, 2018 - Sport of Kings

SO, WHAT to do with Samcro? Hailed by Davy Russell last year as the second coming, trainer Gordon Elliott fanned the flames of the horse’s reputation any time he spoke of him, while the only connection who didn’t seem to get carried away by the hype was owner Mick O’Leary. The Ryanair moneybags may have… Read more »

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Jim Martin

JIM MARTIN’S HEADACHE

Date: November 15, 2018 - Sport of Kings

ANOTHER all-weather track is on the cards for Ireland, with plans at an advanced stage for an artificial racing surface to be installed at the Horse Racing Ireland-owned Tipperary racecourse. There has been talk for a number of years about developing a second all-weather track, such has been the success of Dundalk since its opening… Read more »

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Patrick Doran

PATRICK DORAN’S HIGH RAILINGS

Date: November 15, 2018 - High Society

SOON-TO-BE resident of Shrewsbury Road in the heart of D4, packaging moneybags Patrick Doran, has just suffered a setback for his plans to install “overly high” railings and gates to the front of his new pile, which is currently being completely renovated. The house, Fintragh, was reported to have been purchased by the low-profile Doran,… Read more »

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Judy Woodworth

JUDY WOODWORTH’S GOOD AND BAD NEWS

Date: November 15, 2018 - High Society

THERE WAS bad news last week when Wicklow County Council shot down a proposal from the Judy Woodworth-chaired Alfred Beit Foundation (ABF) to convert two outbuildings at Russborough House in Co Wicklow into rental accommodation. While this will hit long-term income plans, things are looking up in Blessington. Woodworth chairs the ABF, which includes mediator… Read more »

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Rebecca Moynihan

AFTER FILMBASE IN TEMPLE BAR

Date: November 15, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

THE APPLICATIONS are in from arts organisations seeking to move their headquarters to the cultural hub that is Dublin’s Temple Bar. The prize is the old Filmbase offices on Curved Street. In March this year, the wheels came off Filmbase when Tom Murray was appointed liquidator (although that story is far from over, with the… Read more »

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Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

REPLACING JOHN MCAULIFFE

Date: November 15, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

AFTER FIVE years, John McAuliffe has finished his term as a member (and deputy chair) of the Arts Council. This is the start of a period of regime change on Merrion Square. McAuliffe has been in situ since 2013 and the Manchester-based writer and academic was appointed as deputy chair in 2016 by the then… Read more »

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Emma Donoghue

SOAKING UP THOSE FILM FUNDS

Date: November 15, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

ANNIE DOONA’S Screen Ireland posted its third-quarter funding allocations last week. As with every round, there is the usual, dominant set of recipients, the established companies that soak up much of the resources. Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney’s Element operation received four development project loans (a total of €97,000) for projects being written by Emma… Read more »

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Ronan Lynch

SEAN LYNCH TACKLES THE ‘IRISH TIMES’

Date: November 15, 2018 - Brief Cases

INTERESTING to see that the Irish Times is being sued by a popular Dublin 2 pub. The Swan Bar on Aungier Street and its owners – Sean and his son, Ronan Lynch – are suing the paper of record over a 2016 article that incorrectly stated that the boozer had closed down. The row is… Read more »

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Dermot Foster

TAXMAN LOCKS ON TO BASTA

Date: November 15, 2018 - Brief Cases

MORE headaches for the team behind Sligo lock and door manufacturing plant Basta Parsons Ltd, with the taxman filing a winding-up petition. This follows the company’s appointment of an examiner. The Revenue’s petition was presented to the court at the beginning of November and is due to be heard next week. It comes just three… Read more »

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Gene Murtagh

MONEYBAGS PROFILE: GENE MURTAGH

Date: November 15, 2018 - Moneybags

GENE MURTAGH is chief executive of one of Ireland’s most dynamic companies of recent time – Kingspan. Although he is only 47, he has been in situ as CEO for 13 years, but that probably has something to do with the fact that he took over from the company’s founder (now chairman) – his father,… Read more »

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Judge Peter Kelly

TRIBUNAL GROUNDS LEGAL EAGLES

Date: November 15, 2018 - Brief Cases

A COUPLE of troubled legal eagles have found themselves on the wrong side of the Law Society again. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has censured and fined Limerick City solicitor Christoper Lynch for two findings of professional misconduct. Lynch has some history with the disciplinary tribunal, having previously been suspended from practice in 2014. The Law… Read more »

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Eugene Murtagh

MONEYBAGS PROFILE: EUGENE MURTAGH

Date: November 15, 2018 - Moneybags

EUGENE MURTAGH’S story features an incredible rise to the big time, taking place mostly off the radar (no honorary doctorates for the media-shy Cavan man). Those who have backed him over the past decades will have made serious profits, none more so than himself. Murtagh’s wealth is dominated by his stake in the company, but… Read more »

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Annual 2018

THE PHOENIX ANNUAL 2018 – ON SALE NOW!

Date: November 15, 2018 -

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Hot Water Brigade default

ADRIAN BLANC’S BILL

Date: November 14, 2018 - Brief Cases

SPARE a thought for Foxrock businessman Adrian Blanc, who has just been whacked by vulture fund Launceston to the tune of €2.3m. Blanc (also known as Adrian Le Blanc) and his wife Lucille Blanc have had a rough ride in recent times after gambling heavily… Read more »