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Orlaith MacBride

ORLAITH McBRIDE’S CONTRACT

Date: June 17, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

The plenary session of the Sheila Pratschke-chaired Arts Council (which is currently three members shy) is set to discuss the renewal of McBride’s contract. The policy that is generally adopted by the state when it comes to fixed-term contracts is that there should only be one term. Indeed, this is the recommendation from the Department… Read more »

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The Ponzi Man

THE PONZI MAN – DECLAN LYNCH (HACHETTE)

Date: June 17, 2016 - BooksReviews

SINDO columnist Declan Lynch has written several books exploring addiction and his weekly column regularly focuses on the subject. This latest novel is about a compulsive gambler waiting to be sent to jail for running what is believed to be a Ponzi scheme and stealing his clients’ money. It’s also the story of Ireland’s reckless… Read more »

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Ingrid Miley

RTÉ POL CORR CONTEST

Date: June 17, 2016 - Fit to Print?

THE two senior political journalists in the state, RTÉ’s political correspondent, David Davin-Power (DDP), and Irish Times political editor Stephen Collins, are due for retirement within months. But while the succession stakes at the IT have been sorted (see The Phoenix, 15/1/16), there will be a mad scramble for the RTÉ position. The Sunday Business… Read more »

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Irish Examiner’s preoccupation

Date: June 17, 2016 - Fit to Print?

THE Irish Examiner’s preoccupation with anniversaries of IRA outrages in the Republic 20 and 30 years ago is proving to be a litigious and costly exercise. The paper’s coverage of past IRA activity has already cost it well over €130,000 in libel damages and legal costs. Tralee’s James Sheehan recently took this amount from the… Read more »

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kate-gilmore

TOWN IS DEAD – PEACOCK THEATRE

Date: June 17, 2016 - ReviewsTheatre

IT’S ALL too easy for new playwrights to be tempted by social commentary. Wrapping stories in broad themes helps drama to take on some greater significance – especially when the action doesn’t stand up on its own. Phillip ‘Philly’ McMahon should know better than to fall into this trap. Former writer-in-residence at the National Theatre,… Read more »

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Denis O'Brien

COSTS PUT SCREW ON RED FLAG

Date: June 17, 2016 - Fit to Print?

WHILE Denis O’Brien continues his compulsive, serial litigation against anybody that blinks at him, the most insidious legal vendetta he is pursuing is against Red Flag, the PR company he claims mounted a defamation and conspiracy against him. Red Flag’s costs in this case have reached something like €1.3m, with legal fees and high tech… Read more »

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Patrick Treacy

PATRICK TREACY’S TAX BILL

Date: June 17, 2016 - High Society

ONE of the most interesting names to appear on the recent list of tax defaulters was that of Patrick Treacy, founder of the Ailesbury Cosmetic Clinic. However, the cosmetic surgeon – who developed quite a knack for dropping the name of his former good pal, superstar Michael Jackson, into the conversation – has other problems… Read more »

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Eva Orsmond

Dr Eva’s profits

Date: June 17, 2016 - High Society

RTÉ has just offloaded a number of programmes to Australian broadcaster SBS, one of which is the documentary Sugar Crash, fronted by celebrity health guru Dr Eva Orsmond. No doubt, this will further boost her belt-busting coffers. Orsmond – who counts pole dancing as a hobby – has made a name for herself as an… Read more »

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LABOUR WEIGHED DOWN WITH OLDIES

Date: June 17, 2016 - Last Refuge

BRENDAN HOWLIN’S effort to resurrect the Labour Party began with a successful Dáil motion on workers’ rights and, despite his Mr Austerity epithet, it is clear that Howlin sees the need to claw back the party’s working-class identity. The traditional trade union, workers’ issues have been submerged under Sandymount liberalism for the last five years… Read more »

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Anne Doherty (left) Gemma O'Doherty (right)

FF LEGAL THREAT OVER MURDER CASE

Date: June 17, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

FIANNA FÁIL has threatened to sue journalist Gemma O’Doherty over various allegations she has made against party leader Micheál Martin and others in the party concerning political interference in a Garda investigation into the 1977 murder of six-year-old Mary Boyle from Donegal. O’Doherty has been pursuing allegations made by retired gardaí that a member of… Read more »

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Ali, teh greatest

MUHAMMAD ALI’S FIGHT AGAINST RACISM AND WAR

Date: June 17, 2016 - Foreign Frolics

A FORTNIGHT last Friday marked the death of arguably the greatest and most beloved Black athlete in history: Muhammad Ali. No sport has exploited athletes, particularly Black athletes, quite like boxing.The very first boxers in America were African slaves. White slave owners would amuse themselves by forcing slaves to box to the death while wearing… Read more »

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Iain Finnegan

MODERNIST MOVES IN MONKSTOWN

Date: June 17, 2016 - High Society

AN UNUSUAL looking new building is creeping into view from behind the high walls at the junction of Seapoint Avenue and Albany Avenue in Monkstown, south County Dublin. The new house – which is being built for local businessman Michael O’Leary (not that one) and his wife, Kate – is attracting plenty of attention. It… Read more »

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Bertie’s Handball Alley Feud

Date: June 17, 2016 - Last Refuge

IT’S a long way from the Middle East, Russia and Turkey to the Clonliffe Road area, but Bertie has been asked to arbitrate in the conflict at the GAA’s handball alley off Croke Park and will hopefully prove more successful in resolving this local spat than those in various global hot spots. In recent months… Read more »

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EU COMMISSION WATER LEAKS

Date: June 17, 2016 - Last Refuge

THE EU Commission has issued a statement on the contentious water charges directive which contradicts statements given off the record to RTÉ and which every media, as well as the Taoiseach, took as gospel in the recent furious debate over water charges. The EU response to Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan’s query as to whether… Read more »

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Savyon Liebrecht

LISTOWEL WRITERS WEEK

Date: June 17, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

Listowel Writers Week stood by its decision to invite Israeli-feminist writer Savyon Liebrecht to address its annual festival recently but, after some debate, it refused money from the Israeli embassy to support the event. Festival organisers invited Liebrecht some time ago but when supporters of BDS (boycott, disinvestment and sanctions) lobbied the group about Israeli… Read more »

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KATE O’CONNELL IN LUCINDA MOULD

Date: June 17, 2016 - Last Refuge

IS newly elected TD Kate O’Connell grateful for the concerted and hugely resourced Fine Gael campaign that delivered her to the Dáil for Dublin BaySouth (DBS) like some well-packaged girl band? Actually, Kate believes that ifanyone should be grateful it is Enda Kenny and the party as she took a second seat in the constituency… Read more »

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Cathal Friel

No quick cure for Amryt Pharma investors

Date: June 17, 2016 - Moneybags

IN A complete shift of gear, Cathal Friel has turned Fastnet Oil & Gas into Amryt Pharmaceuticals. At first sight, moving from a failing oil and gas business into a pharmaceutical operation specialising in ‘orphan’ drug development seems simply bizarre. Friel, who is both the chairman and largest shareholder in Fastnet, with a 12% stake,… Read more »

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Catherine Ardagh

Catherine Ardagh

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Young Bloods

Thirty-three year-old Catherine Ardagh has risen above personal hardship and defeat in 2016 to become Fianna Fáil’s Seanad leader. The first few months of the year saw her lose out on a Dáil seat in Dublin South Central, only to win a senate seat on the Industrial and Commercial Panel. In May, her father, former… Read more »

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Shane Ross

LORD ROSS’S PRIORITIES

Date: June 17, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THE absence of the voluble Shane Ross from the pages of the Sunday Independent, a platform he used to great effect in his ascent into cabinet over the last number of years, is not because the Sindo has sacked him. Nor is it because Fine Gael has asked him to desist from his usual trenchant… Read more »

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Frank Scapaticci (l), Brian Nelson (r)

LOUGHINISLAND MASSACRE: COLLUSION AGAIN

Date: June 17, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

Last week’s report by the north’s Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire on the Loughinisland killings of June 1994 is an important landmark not just because he concluded that “collusion was a significant feature of the murders”. It’s important because Maguire went beyond the examination of the incident itself and produced a narrative to set the… Read more »

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jeremy-masding

PTSB launches ‘Explore Account’

Date: June 17, 2016 - Moneybags

IN MAY last year the company floated off 25% of Permanent TSB on the Irish Stock Exchange and, in the process, raised €500m by issuing 25% of its share capital at €4.50 per share. At the time Moneybags (see The Phoenix 5/6/15) said that this was “almost impossible to justify for investors” and suggested “that… Read more »

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article default

Dermot Desmond’s graduates

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

IT HAS been a busy few weeks for Dermot Desmond’s Uversity, the ‘cultural odyssey’ idea he floated at the Global Economic Forum in Farmleigh back in 2009. Initially it was set to take the form of “a world-class centre for the performing arts and Irish culture” in a landmark building. What DD eventually delivered was… Read more »

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Paul Williams to trial with Newstalk?

NEWSTALK CRISIS RESHUFFLE

Date: June 17, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THE exit of Ivan Yates, gradual retirement of George Hook and ongoing slide in Pat Kenny’s ratings has created a perfect storm at Newstalk radio and emergency measures will be presented as a revamp in the next week or so. Taking advantage of the crisis, as they say, will be a move to shore up… Read more »

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The Revenue

Revenue clamps down on corporation tax

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

THREE unlucky companies were named in Revenue’s latest list of tax defaulters for failure to file corporation tax returns. S Carroll Contracts Ltd, a civil engineering and plant hire business in Gort, Co Galway; St Helena’s Construction Ltd in Co Longford; and Lloyd’s Retreat Ltd, a hair salon in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, were all fined… Read more »

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chocolate-factory

Galway clampers get the axe

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

DRIVERS in Galway City shouldn’t get too excited about the news that Galway Clamping Company Ltd is set for liquidation, with a meeting of the creditors scheduled to take place next week. The company is owned by Galway property management magnate Joe Gaffney, who set up another clamping operation in 2014. Clamping in Galway City… Read more »

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brian-ohare

Louth bookie’s bowl of woes

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

ONE business name that popped up on Revenue’s latest list of defaulters was a Drogheda company called Nevada Jack’s Ltd. The popular casino on Drogheda’s main street was fined €600 by the taxman for illegal gaming at the premises. It’s a minor headache for the principals there, Brian ‘Barney’ O’Hare and his wife Tracey, who… Read more »

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martin-phelan

Trotter Independent Trading winds up

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

GOLDHAWK spotted one intriguing notice recently related to a business called Trotter Independent Trading Company. The small Dublin investment company is being voluntarily struck off, having recently ceased trading. It was set up in 1991 by 10 friends who were college students at the time and named in reference to their favourite comedy programme, Only… Read more »

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Kevin O'Sullivan

THE IRISH TIMES GOES NATIVE

Date: June 17, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

IRISH TIMES journalists would normally expect congratulations and awards for high-minded investigations into such matters as clerical child abuse, the Panama Papers and the like. However, the times and the culture at Tara Street are a-changing and the staff were recently given a gold star by management for their award-winning efforts in native advertising –… Read more »

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article default

Des Murphy’s Annus Horribilis

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

CORK builder and developer Des Murphy has had a hectic 2016, with two of his companies placed in receivership already this year. A second receiver was appointed to Descon last week on foot of a mortgage dating back to 1981. A receiver was also appointed to Cleve Properties Ltd in January. Bank of Ireland (BoI)… Read more »

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Denis Naughten

BORD NA MÓNA’S ‘GREENWASH’

Date: June 17, 2016 - Fowl Emissions

“Almost 1,500 jobs” could be lost if Bord na Móna is prevented from harvesting peat for its Edenderry power plant in Co Offaly. This ominous news in the Irish Examiner (June 6th) is the latest in a take-no-prisoners PR offensive by the semi-state as it fights back against environmental spoil-sports who want to stop it… Read more »

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article default

Nestor boys’ bank troubles

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

ONE story that caught Goldhawk’s eye recently was the unfair sacking of a Supervalu employee in Galway after he ate a slice of pizza that he found in the bin. The Employment Appeals Tribunal this month judged that the companies that operate the Supervalu franchise had unfairly dismissed the employee, Edson Simoa De Morais, and… Read more »

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hot-air-brigade

The Hot Air Brigade

Date: June 17, 2016 - The Hot Air Brigade

‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ #Mandela #RSAvIre Tweet from Sunday Business Post columnist Elaine Byrne after Ireland’s rugby win against South Africa It’s easy to forget you’re being interviewed when talking to Olaf, which is probably what makes him so good. He’s a beguiling character…I always feel I should be interviewing him. Bono… Read more »

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Vol. 34 No. 19

Vol. 34 No. 12

Date: June 16, 2016 -

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Vol. 34 No. 11

Vol. 34 No. 11

Date: June 2, 2016 -

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John McGuinness

MOTORMOUTH McGUINNESS

Date: June 1, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THE normally astute media manipulator, John McGuinness, may have miscalculated with his latest outburst, in which he makes serious allegations against ex-commissioner Martin Callinan. But the real political hand grenade that McGuinness lobbed into the debate about the Gardaí and whistleblower Maurice McCabe was his refusal to express confidence in current commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan, in… Read more »

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“REPREHENSIBLE BEHAVIOUR” IN THE HIGH COURT

“REPREHENSIBLE BEHAVIOUR” IN THE HIGH COURT

Date: June 1, 2016 - Wigs on the Green

WHAT A coincidence that Judge Max Barrett should choose the example of Digicel when citing case law in an intriguing High Court legal battle featuring an Irish company with connections to acolytes of Denis O’Brien. The spat is a colourful one, in which the judge referred to “reprehensible behaviour” by the other party to the… Read more »

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