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John Halligan

PYONGYANG REVISITED

Date: February 22, 2018 - Foreign Frolics

SOME interesting coincidences around the proposed visit to North Korea by ministers John Halligan, Shane Ross and Finian McGrath have been clocked by members of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ). Last October Comhaltas magazine Treoir republished a 26-year-old article from the mag entitled Koreans Delight Fleadh Audiences – Memorable Historic Cultural Exchange in 1991. The two-page… Read more »

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Pippa O'Connor

The Hot Air Brigade

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Air Brigade

I must own a hundred pair of denim jeans, each serving their different purpose. Fashionista and designer Pippa O’Connor quoted on her website, Submitted by reader We’re the new Iniesta and Xavi of teatime TV. TV3’s Martin King on his new programme with Muireann O’Connell, Irish Mail on Sunday After the news of Jennifer Aniston’s… Read more »

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Leo Varadkar and Theresa May

DUP-TORY DEADLOCK

Date: February 22, 2018 - Bird's Eye View

FOR THE second time in two months, Theresa May turned up to seal a deal only for the DUP to whip it off the table. The first occasion, on December 4, saw May’s deal with the EU on the border and moving to the next phase of Brexit talks torpedoed by the DUP. That was… Read more »

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Michael Ring

RINGER THREATENS TO GO INDEPENDENT

Date: February 22, 2018 - Last Refuge

ONLY when Enda Kenny became Fine Gael leader and then Taoiseach did he manage to best his Mayo running mate, Michael Ring, at general elections in Mayo. Now Ringer, Rural and Community Affairs Minister, is privately threatening to resign from the Blueshirts and run as an Independent should Cllr Patsy O’Brien be selected as a… Read more »

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Noeleen Reilly

SINN FEIN DISSIDENT IS IN DEMAND

Date: February 22, 2018 - Last Refuge

SINN FÉIN’S latest political casualty, Cllr Noeleen Reilly, will be a loss to the party and will doubtless take a chunk of first preference votes from sitting TD Dessie Ellis at the next general election in Dublin North-West (DNW) if she stands as an Independent. But will Noeleen be tempted to join Social Democrats joint… Read more »

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Micheál Martin

WHO FEARS TO SPEAK OF UNITED IRELAND?

Date: February 22, 2018 -

WHEN the northern talks collapsed recently, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar admonished DUP leader Arlene Foster for failing to accept “power sharing and equality”. Yet Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil – ‘The Republican Party’ – laid the blame on both the DUP and Sinn Féin. Has Martin been so unhinged by SF and Mary Lou McDonald’s… Read more »

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Rónán Mullen

ALIVE! AND KICKING

Date: February 22, 2018 - Fit to Print?

BOTH sides in the abortion referendum have exhorted their foot soldiers to be respectful and moderate in tone when arguing the case for Yes or No. However, Catholic special forces at Alive! newspaper have launched a shock and awe campaign that makes Youth Defence look like secular wimps. The current edition of the freesheet, Alive!,… Read more »

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Denis Naughten

MERLIN NAUGHTEN

Date: February 22, 2018 - Fowl Emissions

IT’S NO secret that wishful thinking remains the main policy weapon the government deploys when it comes to hitting tough international commitments on climate change. What’s less well understood is the staggering extent to which even the experts are engaging in magical thinking to maintain the illusion that avoiding a global climate catastrophe is still… Read more »

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Sacred Cows

Date: February 22, 2018 - Fowl Emissions

The government’s new national development plan had that “one for everyone in the audience” feel, including a lavish commitment to spending €22bn, or a fifth of total budget, on tackling climate change. The commitment to invest €4bn to retrofit 45,000 houses and schools is a start, but with at least a million houses in Ireland… Read more »

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Paul Kehoe

Warmongers

Date: February 22, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

“PESCO also has absolutely nothing to do with the creation of an EU army. Nothing in the treaties provides for the creation of an EU army.” So said Junior Minister for Defence Paul Kehoe with a straight face as he addressed the Dáil in December in a debate on Ireland joining up to the EU’s… Read more »

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Mary Lou McDonald

SF Absententionism

Date: February 22, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

DÁIL members are tensed for the first policy change of Sinn Féin under Mary Lou McDonald with the really big question being whether she will abolish abstentionism – in the Visitors’ Bar. Brexit spokesman Dave Cullinane was for some time the only party TD spotted in the bar – consuming non-alcoholic refreshments – and Fianna… Read more »

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Bog Cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Date: February 22, 2018 - Bog Cuttings

‘Be careful what you grow in the garden’ A CLOUGHLEIGH man has told Ennis District Court that it was “pot luck” that a cannabis plant happened to be growing at his home. His solicitor John Casey said his client, Matthew Reddan (27) of Shallee Drive, had a cannabis seed and decided to plant it in… Read more »

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Alan Kelly

AK47 Ultimatum

Date: February 22, 2018 - Last Refuge

IT IS just under five months since Deputy Alan Kelly gave Labour leader Brendan Howlin “less than” six months to either shape up or ship out. That deadline means Howlin has a week or so to save his leadership before AK47 tries to take him out. Last weekend’s two polls showing Labour at an abysmal… Read more »

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Eoghan Harris

Leo’s Loyal Fan

Date: February 22, 2018 - Fit to Print?

“DURING the Fine Gael leadership campaign I supported Leo Varadkar and strongly opposed Simon Coveney.” So claimed Eoghan Harris recently in his Sindo column in a revisionist exercise that would make Roy Foster blush. What Harris actually did was to “strongly” support Coveney in 2015 and 2016, writing for example, that Coveney “was the only… Read more »

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Amanda Brunker

TICKLED PINK IN AVOCA

Date: February 22, 2018 - High Society

ACCORDING TO a puff piece by Sean Gallagher in the Sindo last weekend, social media and selfies have led to a boom for cosmetic surgery procedures as “the pressure on women to look their best has never been greater”. Apparently, this has led to a big boost for Ailish Kelly and Niamh Murdock’s Avoca Clinic… Read more »

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Serious Profits

Date: February 22, 2018 - High Society

WITH THE death of Alan Potts last year and Rich Ricci becoming more cautious with his spending, there was a worry that the boutique sales for Irish horseflesh would suffer a bit at the top end without the help of the big wallets and egos. There was no cause for concern, however, at Tattersalls Ireland’s… Read more »

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Cathy Belton

THE APPROACH – PROJECT ARTS CENTRE

Date: February 22, 2018 - ReviewsTheatre

AT THE turn of the millennium, Mark O’Rowe’s ultra-violent plays exploded like a fat line of speed up the nostrils of the Irish theatre establishment. The likes of Howie the Rookie and Crestfall shocked and thrilled punters, with Tarantino-esque levels of gore and compelling anti-heroes from the ’hood. How times have changed. The amphetamine days… Read more »

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Chris Walley and Alex Murphy

THE YOUNG OFFENDERS – RTE 2

Date: February 22, 2018 - ReviewsTV

BASED ON writer-director Peter Foott’s underwhelming but uber-popular 2016 movie of the same name, The Young Offenders is a co-production between RTÉ and the Beeb’s online yoof channel, BBC Three. A sitcom on two teen tearaways in Cork might seem an unusual project for the latter to take on, though it’s worth bearing in mind… Read more »

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In White Ink

IN WHITE INK – ELSKE RAHILL (APOLLO LILLIPUT)

Date: February 22, 2018 - BooksReviews

THIS COLLECTION of 11 short stories follows Elske Rahill’s 2013 debut novel Between Dog and Wold. The French-based Irish writer specialises in exploring many of those disquieting moments that people prefer to keep private. Rahill’s central characters are mostly women who find themselves in uncomfortable situations. The opening story, Toby, reflects the emptiness in a… Read more »

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Anne Clarke

LITTLE DRAMA AT THEATRE AWARDS

Date: February 22, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

THIS WEEKEND in the National Concert Hall, the theatre industry’s glitterati will dutifully assemble for the Irish Times Theatre Awards. The 20-year-old ritual gives the luvvies an excuse to glam up, and gives the newspaper’s marketing department some tickets and sponsorships to sell. The judges on the small panel are typically pulled from academia, theatre… Read more »

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US Arts Dosh

Date: February 22, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

WITH THE long delayed $62m Irish Arts Centre project in New York again under the spotlight, it was interesting to see the response from Culture Minister Josepha Madigan to SF’s Peadar Tóibín’s question earlier this month on further state support. The question from the chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht… Read more »

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Gabriel Byrne

GABRIEL BYRNE’S PLOT TWIST

Date: February 22, 2018 - Behind the Scenes

ACTOR AND all-round busybody Gabriel Byrne will have upset the luvvies with his pronouncement last week that there is not “an industry” when talking about the so-called Irish film industry. He told TheJournal.ie: “When people say, ‘Oh, yes, it’s really flourishing’ sometimes what they mean is that people come in and make films in Ireland,… Read more »

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Gary O'Brien

AFTER AT THE RACES

Date: February 22, 2018 - Sport of Kings

THE FALLOUT following the recent shock news that At The Races will cease to broadcast Irish racing on its channel is continuing to have an impact and there are set to be multiple casualties. For starters it is a serious blow for the current team of At The Races pundits and presenters who were blindsided… Read more »

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Bryan Cooper

BRYAN COOPER’S RARE RIDES

Date: February 22, 2018 - Sport of Kings

BRYAN COOPER’S latest retainer looks to have come to an end after a very brief association. In November last year, Cooper got drafted in to ride all the UK-trained horses owned by Allan Potts. Most of these were handled by Colin Tizzard and despite the trainer admitting Cooper wouldn’t have been his first choice, the… Read more »

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Min at Dublin Racing Festival

DENIS EGAN’S LATE LATE SHOW

Date: February 22, 2018 - Sport of Kings

THE ACTING stewards at the Dublin Racing Festival came in for quite a bit of flak over their failure to investigate the poor performance of some high profile Willie Mullins horses that had drifted alarmingly on the exchanges shortly before the off of their respective races. Yorkhill began the day as the odds-on favourite for… Read more »

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Tony Smurfit

Shareholders boxed in at Smurfit Kappa

Date: February 22, 2018 - Moneybags

SMURFIT KAPPA is the biggest cardboard box company outside of North America – and the biggest in Europe and South America. It is obvious that the group needs to make a major acquisition across the Atlantic. Unfortunately, chief executive Tony Smurfit has instead continued to plod along and seems more than happy just to manage… Read more »

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Pearse Phelan

Dr Pearse Phelan’s Midas touch

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Water Brigade

A COMPANY called Midas Health and Sports Ltd has just called in the liquidator after the operation went downhill. The principal here is colourful entrepreneur Dr Pearse Phelan but creditors will be hoping for better outcomes than at the last Phelan-linked company to collapse into liquidation, Fitzwilliam Private Clinic Ltd. Fans of Goldhawk will recall… Read more »

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Chris Shiel

Chris Shiel’s Star Wars gig

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Water Brigade

CONGRATULATIONS to Galway high-flier Chris Shiel whose aviation company, 21st Century Aviation Ltd, had a bumper 2017. Shiel is best known for an ill-fated 2015 tender for a state contract to operate the Aran Islands air service but luckily customers from a galaxy far, far away have been boosting his profits in recent times. Shiel’s… Read more »

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Greg Kavanagh

Greg Kavanagh’s Ballycrag bother

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Water Brigade

INTERESTING to see the taxman getting tough with Arklow developer Greg Kavanagh’s property empire. In a second Kavanagh-related scrap in as many months, the taxman has moved to wind up two property companies linked to the former New Generation Homes impresario – Ballycrag Developments Ltd and Branwen Developments Ltd. Kavanagh is listed as a director… Read more »

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The holiday home in Kiltoom

Cormac Lohan’s holiday home

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Water Brigade

ROSCOMMON solicitor Cormac Lohan had a tax judgment for over €124,000 registered against him at the end of January. Lohan, who practises as Lohan & Co Solicitors in Athlone, Co Westmeath, has had run-ins with the Revenue before and last August, the taxman hit him for over €200,000. Lohan has had a tough time of… Read more »

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Nick Munier and Alanna Feeney

Nick Munier’s taxing year

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Water Brigade

FORMER celebrity restaurant impresario Nick Munier had a judgment for close to €80,000 registered against him at the beginning of February. It’s been a tough start to the year for former MasterChef maître d’ Munier who, fans of Goldhawk will recall, had to suddenly close his chic Temple Bar restaurant Avenue by Nick Munier last… Read more »

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Drinks on House

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Water Brigade

A COMPANY called Sykes Hotel Group (SHG) Ltd has just been hit with a judgment for €30,000 over unpaid rates – a familiar story for the outfit. SHG – owned by brothers Trevor and David Sykes – is the company behind the Courtown Hotel in Gorey, Co Wexford, which is currently being wound up the… Read more »

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Peter Reaney’s ‘religious beliefs’

Date: February 22, 2018 - The Hot Water Brigade

ANOTHER setback for colourful Mayo businessman and blogger Peter Reaney. Originally a plasterer by trade, Reaney dipped into property development in 2006 when he purchased a site in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon. He received planning permission to build three blocks of two- and three-bedroom houses but ran into difficulty during the project and ended up borrowing… Read more »

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Simon Coveney

SIMON COVENEY’S FAMILY VALUES

Date: February 8, 2018 - Affairs of the Nation

EVEN Simon Coveney’s angry critics in Fine Gael – and they are very angry – accept that his very public opposition to the proposed legislation for 12 weeks’ unrestricted access to abortion comes from a man that has always been sincerely conservative on abortion. But Simon’s conservatism coincides conveniently with a faultline inside FG that… Read more »

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Michael McGrath

Profile: Michael McGrath FF

Date: February 8, 2018 - Pillars of Society

UNEASY LIES the head that wears the crown and, as opinion polls continue to show Fianna Fáil lagging behind Fine Gael in the great election race, an increasingly concerned party leader, Micheál Martin, is looking over his shoulder at potential rivals. Most prominent of these is his constituency running mate and party finance spokesperson, Michael… Read more »

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Paul Stenson

Young Blood: Paul Stenson

Date: February 8, 2018 - The Young Bloods

IS Paul Stenson (37) for real or does he just play the villain on the internet? His critics would accept the former designation but the proprietor of the Charleville Lodge Hotel and adjoining White Moose Café on Dublin’s North Circular Road has plenty of fans and followers who back the social media marketer par excellence… Read more »

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