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IT WAS surprising to see FAI boss John Delaney saying that he never heard of the controversial Olympic ticketing company, Pro10 Sports Management when he issued his long awaited statement last month. The same company was responsible for a major sponsorship donation to the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI), where Delaney is vice president. One… Read more »

FIANNA FAIL’S gyrations on Irish Water may not make any sense in terms of the actual issue, but its latest, hard line position is logical when seen as part of its overall electoral strategy. That Martin did his U-turn just days before the national demo against water charges was no accident, but it is also… Read more »

THE BBC Spotlight programme’s ‘scoop’ on Gerry Adams’ alleged order to kill MI5 informer, Denis Donaldson, marks a watershed of sorts for the once highly regarded programme. The BBC is hardly neutral in whatever conflict its government engages in across the globe but it has managed, nevertheless, to cling on to a reputation of sorts… Read more »

TROUBLED singer Sinead O’Connor made the headlines last week after being named on the Revenue’s latest list of tax defaulters. The outspoken superstar reached a settlement with the Taxman for €160,000 relating to under-declared PAYE and PRSI and a quick look at Sinead’s business activities revealed some equally troubling numbers. Sinead is a principal at… Read more »

A DEVASTATING critique of the Diageo funded campaign, Stop-Out-Of-Control-Drinking (SOOCD), chaired by long time spin doctor, Fergus Finlay, has just been published. Written and researched by six health academics in UCC, London and Stirling, Scotland, it is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE), an international journal that covers science and medicine. It… Read more »

WHILE MARY Robinson attracted plenty of media attention for her recent comments on eating (or rather not eating) meat, there was rather less coverage of her recent trip to Chicago for a lucrative fundraising lunch at the Hilton Chicago organised by the likes of the American Ireland Funds. Last month’s knees-up will have significantly boosted… Read more »

THE DECISION by Bank of Ireland (BoI) to close the three bank accounts of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) raises some serious questions. The Irish media has more or less ignored the move, which comes against the background of a serious ratcheting up of the Israeli campaign against the high profile ‘Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions’… Read more »

RUSSIAN ballet fans may not recognise Tchaikovsky’s original story line or dance form in a re-working of his Swan Lake in the Dublin Theatre Festival, but denizens of Longford and elsewhere in Ireland will. Director and choreographer, Michael Keegan-Dolan’s version of the master’s ballet got rave reviews from The Irish Times (“majestic, vital and empowering”)… Read more »

UNTIL LAST month, barely a peep was raised by the national media (except Goldhawk) about the financial black hole created over a decade by Galway’s Picture Palace cinema project, promoted by Lelia Doolan. Fans of Goldhawk are well aware of the costly debacle but last month RTÉ’s Prime Time moved to catch up and broadcast… Read more »