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grand-hotel-wicklow

Revenue moves to wind up Grand Hotel

Date: December 1, 2016 - Briefcases

THE taxman is petitioning the High Court to wind up the company behind the famous Grand Hotel in Wicklow Town. Doonane Ltd – owned by Dubai resident John Connellan, and Madeleine Delaney – has had its fair share of run-ins with the Revenue in recent years and a look at its accounts revealed some troubling… Read more »

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Tom and Antoinette Darcy’s small victory

Tom and Antoinette Darcy’s small victory

Date: December 1, 2016 - Briefcases

COLOURFUL property developer Tom Darcy and his wife Antoinette had a mixed day in the Supreme Court last month. The couple were denied leave to appeal a judgment from the Court of Appeal, relating to a €17.5m judgement granted against them. Separately, they managed to successfully appeal a ruling of the High Court relating to… Read more »

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Philip Smyth

Philip Smyth’s huge losses

Date: December 1, 2016 - Briefcases

SPARE a thought for Goldhawk’s old pal, Foxrock businessman Philip Smyth, whose hotel company Genport Ltd has had a rough time of it. Genport – which trades as the “boutique” Hampton hotel in Donnybrook – has recently filed accounts and they make for bleak reading, with stomach-churning accumulated losses having built up there. It will… Read more »

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Tiernan-Francie

Paula Tiernan’s colourful father

Date: December 1, 2016 - Briefcases

CONGRATULATIONS are in order to solicitor Paula Tiernan who had a very positive result recently when the Supreme Court discharged a summary judgment for €1.7m, which had been granted against her by the High Court in 2011. In that case, Tiernan denied she had received a loan – which, among other things, was used to… Read more »

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Denis English beats back the vultures

Denis English beats back the vultures

Date: December 1, 2016 - Briefcases

GOLDHAWK spotted an interesting High Court judgment recently, relating to Dalkey businessman Denis English who managed to give US vulture fund Cerberus a bloody nose in court. English bought the 80-acre Knocklofty House estate in Co Tipperary – which was once owned by the former Earl of Donoughmore, Richard Hely Hutchinson – in 1994 and… Read more »

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Denis O’Brien award

Date: November 30, 2016 - Fit to Print?

Sir, For the record, your statement that I wrote the citation for Peter Murtagh’s winning entry in the recent NewsBrands journalism competition is untrue. Yours etc, John Horgan THE PHOENIX is happy to publish this correction from Professor John Horgan, judging panel chairman of the NewsBrands Ireland Journalism Awards 2016. Our article (Annual, 2016) had… Read more »

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2016 Phoenix Annual

Vol.34 Annual 2016

Date: November 25, 2016 -

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zappone katherine

FINE GAEL CABINET PUTSCH

Date: November 16, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

IS Fine Gael about to pull off a cabinet coup by recruiting two of the three Independent non-FG members in cabinet? After months of tortuous political wrangling Enda Kenny produced a coalition government last May composed of 12 FG ministers and three ostensibly Independent ones. If backstage discussions and stratagems conclude satisfactorily, that equation will… Read more »

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kevin-thornton-showjumper

KEVIN THORNTON’S ROUGH RIDE

Date: November 16, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

SPARE A thought for Swiss-based Irish showjumper Kevin Thornton who has become the target of a lot of nasty online comment following the death of showjumping horse Flogas Sunset Cruise at an event in the south of France last month. It was claimed he had whipped the animal to death leading to the inevitable online… Read more »

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jean-claude juncker

SEE NO ARMY, SPEAK NO ARMY

Date: November 16, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

EVERY now and then, some EU leader makes a statement that lets slip the dogs of warlike EU intentions and makes a mockery of Irish political leaders in particular given the government’s repeated protestations about cherishing Irish neutrality. Last month Taoiseach Enda Kenny came under pressure in the Dáil from Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald… Read more »

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ibrahim-halawa

HALAWA ABANDONED BY GOVERNMENT

Date: November 16, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

RESPONSES from both Taoiseach Enda Kenny and foreign minister Charlie Flanagan to Ibrahim Halawa’s effective internment in Egypt – held now for over three years with his ‘trial’ postponed recently for the 16th time – will not have upset the Egyptian dictator, General el-Sisi. But the government could discommode the Egyptian regime if it so… Read more »

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judge-deirdre-murphy

MICHAEL FENLON’S GUN TROUBLE

Date: November 16, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THE HIGH Court ruled last month that Michael Fenlon, chairman of the National Association of Region Game Councils (NARGC) – the body that represents shooters in Ireland – and three fellow members of the executive committee be landed with the legal costs arising from a failed injunction application. This is merely the latest salvo in… Read more »

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Pierce-and-Mairéad-OReilly

IRISH TV’S MIXED SIGNALS

Date: November 16, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THERE HAS been plenty of coverage of the appointment of an examiner to the ‘private’ Teilifís Mhaigh Eo Teo (TME) – the company behind the Irish TV channel established by Pierce and Mairéad O’Reilly and backed by London-based millionaire John Griffin. While a lack of funding is clearly a major factor, the real problem is… Read more »

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Maura King

BARRISTERS BEARDED

Date: November 16, 2016 - Wigs on the Green

THE energetic and voluble barrister, Maura King has swamped the Bar Council and Law Library with allegations of all manner of deficiencies in the council’s procedures, including the manner in which its outgoing chairman, David Barniville, was nominated to the newly created Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA). King wrote to the current Bar Council chairman,… Read more »

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Cool Alan Shatter

Shatter v Kenny

Date: November 16, 2016 - Wigs on the Green

WHO ever knew that Alan Shatter was endowed with such graciousness, munificence even, as evidenced by his intimation that he would not be pursuing the state or anyone else for damages. This followed vindication for the former justice minster by the Court of Appeal judgment over the Guerin report into the handling of complaints from… Read more »

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US Flag

The Hot Air Brigade – Election Special

Date: November 16, 2016 - The Hot Air Brigade

“We need to have a love-in with [Trump’s] people as soon as possible.” Bertie Ahern, Irish Mirror, Submitted by reader “What if Trump does a good job as president? Nobody predicting it but neither did they predict he’d get elected.” Tweet by Niall ‘Lovin Dublin’ Harbison “Hi all, advice at this point is to make… Read more »

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UUP AND SDLP IN DISARRAY

Date: November 16, 2016 - Bird's Eye View

COLUM EASTWOOD became leader of the SDLP at the party’s annual conference on November 14 last year at the age of 32. Three days later, after 10 weeks of glacial movement, Sinn Féin and the DUP concluded the Fresh Start Agreement designed to get the Stormont administration moving again following three years of stalemate. The… Read more »

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BORIS HAYES TO BID FOR DUBLIN MAYOR

Date: November 16, 2016 - Last Refuge

WHAT passion Brian Hayes brought to his recent Sunday Times article about the vital need for a directly elected mayor who would “provide leadership on transport, housing and energy … faster decision-making … crucial for inward investment”, ensure that Dublin was not left behind in a post Brexit world etc. Sounds like Dubliners urgently need… Read more »

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OToole-Fintan

WHEN WILL FINTAN TAKE THE PLUNGE?

Date: November 16, 2016 - Last Refuge

THE Social Democrats hold their inaugural national conference this weekend and the main speaker is neither of its two TDs – Catherine Murphy and Roísín Shortall – but Irish Times resident intellectual, Fintan O’Toole. True, the joint party leaders’ address from Murphy and Shortall concludes the conference (would they have had a tripartite address if… Read more »

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Carey court case

Date: November 16, 2016 - Last Refuge

FORMER Fianna Fáil minister Pat Carey’s breach of privacy case against both the Irish Independent and the gardaí is proceeding through the High Court at the usual plodding pace but relentlessly nevertheless. But a garda investigation into allegations of “child sex abuse claims” that sparked Carey’s action has been under way for a lot longer… Read more »

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Barry Mahon

FROM MAHON snr TO MAHON jnr

Date: November 16, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THE RACING and bloodstock industry features a lot of family connections. The latest examples include former Galway Racecourse manager John Molony passing the baton to his son, Michael, and a cosy handover within the prestigious Juddmonte Farms, Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Irish operation. Juddmonte, which includes Ferrans Stud in Kilcock and New Abbey Stud in Kilcullen,… Read more »

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Breeders Cup

IRISH EYES ON BREEDERS CUP

Date: November 16, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THE BREEDERS Cup Classic is traditionally one of the best races in the world and this year’s edition was no different, with Arrogate and California Chrome serving up one of the most memorable spectacles of the racing season. Though the winner of the $5m race Arrogate is trained by Yank Bob Baffert and owned by… Read more »

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TSUI MOVE HITS OXX HARD

Date: November 16, 2016 - Sport of Kings

JOHN OXX’S ailing training business was dealt another serious blow recently with the news that Chris Tsui and his mother, Ling, have removed all 11 horses they had in training at Currabeg. Famously, Christopher and Ling Tsui own Sea The Stars – undoubtedly the best horse Oxx has trained in his illustrious career. The thoroughbred… Read more »

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John Hanlon

LASIX USE COSTS HANLON €1,500

Date: November 16, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THE FIRST week of November was busy for the Turf Club. First order of business was the sanctioning of jockeys Kevin Sexton and Danny Grant, who got slapped with lengthy bans over their respective failed drug tests. Sexton tested positive for cocaine during the Galway Festival and was handed a two-year ban, with the final… Read more »

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Niamh Horan

NO ‘ST’ HACKS IN TABLOID OSCARS

Date: November 16, 2016 - Fit to Print?

THE side deals and caballing that went on behind the scenes at the News Brands Ireland Journalism Awards 2016 would do credit to a crisis session of the United Nations Assembly. Most titles got what they wanted in the eventual divvy up but The Sunday Times and Irish Mail on Sunday got no award at… Read more »

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Cyril O’Brien

CYRIL O’BRIEN’S COSTLY CASTLE

Date: November 16, 2016 - High Society

IT’S A case of déjà vu as Cyril O’Brien – the Kerryman who opened The George gay bar in Dublin in 1985, almost 10 years before homosexuality was decriminalised – tries yet again to offload his Knockabbey Castle in Co Louth. The hapless former publican has had to knock another few grand off the asking… Read more »

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Cindy Cafolla

Cindy Cafolla’s lifestyle

Date: November 16, 2016 - High Society

ALTHOUGH FORMER ‘Sexiest Legs in Ireland’ Cindy Cafolla suffered something of a fall from grace when the boom here came to an abrupt end, she has been getting on rather better in far away Dubai, judging by an interview she gave there. Fans of Goldhawk may not be surprised to hear her advice that “money… Read more »

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Belinda Strudwick

BELINDA STRUDWICK’S SPORT OF KINGS

Date: November 16, 2016 - High Society

THE RACING of thoroughbred horses is a notoriously expensive business and only the wealthy can afford to play the game seriously. One such moneybags is English property developer Roy Strudwick, who made a mint here in the good old days (and, more importantly, avoided the crash). He has been backing his wife Belinda Strudwick’s Ballygallon… Read more »

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Dermot-Desmond

ARTS COUNCIL TO MOVE?

Date: November 16, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

A RULING from An Bord Pleanála could herald the exit of the Arts Council from Merrion Square if it is as stuck for space as it claims. At least Dermot Desmond is happy with the ruling. The property is owned by Michael Maughan whose scheme proposed demolishing a mews to the rear of 70 Merrion… Read more »

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jim-sheridan

Jim Sheridan’s bright idea

Date: November 16, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

FILM DIRECTOR Jim Sheridan had an interesting take on the poor critical reaction to his latest film, The Secret Scripture, when he popped up on RTÉ television on Saturday night. At least Jimbo has another film in the works – with a rather familiar ring to it. Sheridan put in an appearance on The Ray… Read more »

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Raghnall Ó Floinn

WHAT PRICE PÁDRAIG PEARSE?

Date: November 16, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

GOLDHAWK WAS not surprised to see the upcoming sale of a Padraig Pearse surrender letter generating headlines last weekend. Given its estimate – north of U1m – Adam’s Auctioneers must have been delighted with the media clamour for the state to intervene. But the letter holds little appeal for current director of the National Museum… Read more »

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Judge-David-Keane

Bitter taste for steakhouse directors

Date: November 16, 2016 - Briefcases

SPARE a thought for the directors of the Spur (Liffey Valley) Restaurants Ltd who were restricted from acting as company directors in the High Court at the end of October. Seeking the order of restriction against Spur’s directors Helen Bailey, Stephen Logue and Denis Cremin was the company’s appointed liquidator, Eamon Leahy – and Judge… Read more »

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David Mahon

Grand Master Mahon’s losses

Date: November 16, 2016 - Briefcases

A DONEGAL company called David Mahon Properties Ltd (DMPL) recently filed accounts with the Companies Office after obtaining a filing extension in Donegal District Court. The company is named for its co-owner, David Mahon, an interesting character who made prominent appearances in two separate BBC Spotlight programmes Fermanagh-based Mahon is the Grand Master of the… Read more »

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Niall Linehan in 1992

Niall Linehan hits bum note

Date: November 16, 2016 - Briefcases

GOLDHAWK spotted an interesting company that was wound up in the High Court recently called Balestrand Ltd. The company, with a registered office on Grattan Street in Cork City, is owned and operated by Sean, Leo and Niall Linehan – whose name should be familiar to music fans. In 1990, Niall founded legendary Cork band… Read more »

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Vol 34 No 22

Vol.34 No.22

Date: November 4, 2016 -

November 4 – November 17, 2016

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marcella-corcoran-kennedy

WATERING DOWN THE DRINKS BILL

Date: November 3, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THE lobbying blitz by the massively resourced alcohol and retail industry was conducted by some interesting, if predictable, players and many Oireachtas members said they had never seen anything quite like it. Diageo executives were brought into Leinster House by lobbying and PR firm Hume Brophy to meet a cross section of TDs, although most… Read more »

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