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Lucinda Creighton

RENUA ‘CONFIDENTIAL’

Date: June 1, 2016 - Last Refuge

LAST weekend’s media leaks about Renua’s name change carried nothing like the full flavour of the party post mortem that has gone on at various meetings of members around the country. A quite intriguing report from the meeting in Portlaoise at which Lucinda’s resignation was announced comes in the most “strictly confidential” document issued by… Read more »

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Brendan Howlin

RÓISÍN TO REJECT BRENDAN

Date: June 1, 2016 - Last Refuge

WHO does Brendan Howlin think he’s kidding? Howlin may have assumed leadership of Labour via a clause in the party’s constitution that confers divine right on the former minister, but he will find that Róisín Shortall will decline to become one of his subjects. Howlin told the party and media at his recent coronation that… Read more »

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enda-kenny

ENDA KENNY’S FAVOURITES

Date: June 1, 2016 - Last Refuge

SURPRISE, surprise, the FG internal inquiry has found those most responsible for the election disaster were the HQ officials (mainly general secretary Tom Curran) and consultants (PR guru Mark Mortell) and others drafted in (Brian Hayes as an MEP is a semi-detached politician, but not an FG minister). The report focuses on the need to… Read more »

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Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

PAPAL POLITICS AND IRISH VISIT

Date: June 1, 2016 - Foreign Frolics

A SUCCESSFUL visit to Dublin by Pope Francis in August 2018 will depend on Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s ability to persuade his fellow bishops to make peace with the majority of Irish Catholics – now more liberal and modernist – who favour allowing priests to marry. A second factor enabling Il Papa Francesco to emulate anything… Read more »

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Mathias Feki

THE END OF GLOBALISATION?

Date: June 1, 2016 - Foreign Frolics

by MURRAY DOBBIN AT the height of the battle over the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 1988, the biggest pushers of the deal, the Business Council on National Issues (the 160 largest public corporations), took out full page ads promising the country it would bring “more jobs, better jobs.” It was intended to counter… Read more »

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Rosanna Davison

The Hot Air Brigade

Date: June 1, 2016 - The Hot Air Brigade

It was when her first book, Eat Yourself Beautiful came out last year, that Rosanna felt really naked and felt that she was really revealing herself. Sarah Caden, Sunday Independent (submitted by reader) Taken in isolation his paintings might remain puzzling in their idiosyncrasy, but seen in the context of his championing of such notionally… Read more »

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Royals not invited

Date: June 1, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

KILDARE SOUTH general election candidate, Fine Gael’s Cllr Fiona McLoughlin Healy, got whacked in the Kildare County Council chamber and in the Irish Independent this week for demanding accountability about 1916 commemoration grants. Moving a motion of no confidence in her party colleague and council mayor, Brendan Weld – for allegedly conspiring with Fianna Fáil… Read more »

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Vol. 34 No. 10

Vol. 34 No. 10

Date: May 20, 2016 -

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Investigating Dan McCarthy

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

A COUNTY Cork vet who recently found himself in trouble with the Department of Agriculture has plenty on his plate. Dan McCarthy pleaded guilty earlier in the month to impeding a department investigation into the alleged selling of veterinary antibiotics to customers without prescription, and now faces a probe by the Veterinary Council of Ireland… Read more »

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article default

Veneto is Finito

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

ITALIAN banking operation Veneto Ireland Financial Services Ltd is to be wound up and placed in voluntary liquidation. The company – where local directors include financial consultant Adrian Masterson – is a subsidiary of the Italian Veneto Banca and managed to lose over U7m in 2014. This left accumulated profits standing at €54m. It’s unclear… Read more »

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article default

CARB gets Frank with accountants

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

THE CHARTERED Accountants Regulatory Board (CARB) has had a busy couple of weeks. One unlucky accounting firm in Galway has had its investment authorisation revoked by CARB after failing to file an annual return. As a result, Frank McDonagh & Co of Shangort, Knocknacarra Cross, is no longer allowed to give investment advice to its… Read more »

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living-room

Dublin publicans’ tangled web

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

A COMPANY that owns popular Dublin sports bar, The Living Room, is facing a winding up petition in the High Court after losing a personal injuries claim. Andrew Quigley is due to have a petition heard in the High Court to liquidate Murraywalsh Ltd after he was awarded around €45,000 in Dublin Circuit Court in… Read more »

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article default

Liquidator’s bad day in court

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

AN INTERESTING judgment was handed down in the High Court a couple of weeks ago when a liquidator failed in his attempt to restrict three members of the same family under section 150 of the Companies Act. Lacrombs Ltd, which owned the China Sichaun restaurant in Stilllorgan, operated by the Hui family, went into liquidation… Read more »

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Property company left for the buzzards

Property company left for the buzzards

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

SPARE a thought for Buzzardstown Properties Ltd, which was placed in receivership last week on foot of a 2003 mortgage with First Active PLC. Developers Henry Prestage and Aidan Scully’s company was €758,000 in the red in 2014 according to the last set of accounts filed by the company. But the pair are old hands… Read more »

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Anne Cunningham

Taxassist needs assistance

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

LOOK up the definition of irony and you might find a reference to Anne Cunningham Ltd in the dictionary. The Clane, Co Kildare-based company, which trades as part of the TaxAssist Accountants franchise, is on the receiving end of a winding-up petition by Revenue in the High Court. The company’s principal, Anne Cunningham, has had… Read more »

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Barry Maloney

Globo forced to the wall

Date: May 18, 2016 - The Hot Water Brigade

INTERESTING to see Globoforce Group’s notice in The Irish Times last week, announcing that the company is seeking to reduce its capital. Maybe they should be focused on trying to reduce their massive losses, which stood at an eye-watering $29.5m (€26m) at the end of 2013. The Irish-registered multinational hasn’t filed accounts since then, and… Read more »

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Paddy Power Betfair shares on very high rating

Date: May 18, 2016 - Moneybags

PADDY POWER has been a phenomenally successful business and, following the merger with Betfair, it is in a commanding position in the lucrative gambling market place. However, the mistakes that preceded the return of Breon Corcoran as head man have been very expensive and cost the company some very big bucks. While the shares have… Read more »

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Hostelworld’s success could attract competition

Date: May 18, 2016 - Moneybags

IT IS hard to believe that the tiny online youth hostel booking business which IT geek Ray Nolan and Tom Kennedy – a hostel operator – set up 17 years ago in 1999 is today worth €300m. The US private equity group, Hellman and Friedman, approached the boys in 2009 with a whopping €200m cash… Read more »

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Robbie McNamara

CULLOTY’S COMPETITION

Date: May 18, 2016 - Sport of Kings

ROBBIE McNAMARA has launched his training career, just over a year after the racing fall that ended his riding career and left him paralysed from the waist down. This may not be great news for another handler. The Limerickman has set up shop on the Curragh and hopes to have his first runner in the… Read more »

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Kieren Fallon

KIEREN FALLON’S RENAISSANCE

Date: May 18, 2016 - Sport of Kings

KIEREN FALLON is enjoying something of a renaissance since his move back to his native Ireland a few months ago. Not for the first time, Fallon surprised the racing community when announcing his return to Ireland from the US to take up a position as stable jockey to young Curragh trainer, Michael O’Callaghan. Fallon had… Read more »

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David Nicholls

DANDY NICHOLLS’ COURT DATE

Date: May 18, 2016 - Sport of Kings

WELL-KNOWN trainer David ‘Dandy’ Nicholls currently finds himself in serious trouble with a looming court case in which he is accused of sexual assault. The 59-year-old Nicholls, a former jockey, is due before magistrates in Northallerton, Yorkshire, later this month. Police have indicated he was sent a postal requisition to appear in court to face… Read more »

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HYDE AND SEEKING

Date: May 18, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THERE WERE quite a few Irish connections to the recent Kentucky Derby winner, Nyquist. The superstar colt, unbeaten in eight runs, was bred by Tim Hyde Jnr of Camas Park Stud in Tipperary. Hyde bred the horse at his Kentucky based Summerhill Farm and sold him for $180,000 as a foal at Keeneland Sales in… Read more »

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jim-sheridan

JIM SHERIDAN’S ‘SECRET’ PROBLEM

Date: May 18, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

IT’S A far cry from 2003 for film director Jim Sheridan. Back then, he was finishing his autobiographical opus, In America, and fronting a campaign to prevent Charlie McCreevy doing away with the Section 481 tax break for film in the 2004 budget. Today, he is helming a production that looks to be in some… Read more »

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Fearghal O’Boyle

FEARGHAL O’BOYLE’S EXAMINATION

Date: May 18, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

THE PUBLISHING business in Ireland is a tough one and the latest company to feel the heat is The Columba Book Service Ltd, which has just had an examiner appointed. This is the company behind both Columba Press and Currach Press. The Columba Press was established in the 1980s and the principal here is Fearghal… Read more »

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Peter Macon

OTHELLO – ABBEY THEATRE

Date: May 18, 2016 - Theatre

WITH JUST three productions left under his tenure, Abbey boss Fiach Mac Conghail may be understandably concerned about his artistic legacy. In terms of breaking new ground at the Abbey, a 400-year-old writer has topped the list: Mac Conghail has put on Shakespeare nearly every year for the last decade, in many cases bringing the… Read more »

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First Dates

RTÉ 2’s ‘YOOF’ PROGRAMMES

Date: May 18, 2016 - TV

THE homegrown version of the Channel 4 dating programme, First Dates, has been well-received over recent weeks. Romance – contrived or otherwise – is ratings gold, so it’s no surprise that RTÉ has followed the UK format with the imaginatively titled First Dates Ireland. The formula could hardly be simpler – two single people are… Read more »

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MRS ENGELS – GAVIN McCREA (SCRIBE)

Date: May 18, 2016 - Books

SHORTLISTED for this year’s Desmond Elliott Prize, Gavin McCrea’s novel is narrated by Irishwoman Lizzie Burns (an actual historical figure), the longtime partner of socialist philosopher, Frederick Engels. The Dublin-born author weaves factual details from history into the narrative, but has to imagine most of the story as the illiterate Lizzie left no records about… Read more »

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Moya Doherty and John McColgan

RIVERDANCE PAIR’S PENTHOUSE

Date: May 18, 2016 - High Society

RTÉ chairman Moya Doherty and her hubby and Riverdance partner, John McColgan, have put their Howth pile, Dane’s Hollow, on the market for a whopping €9.5m and are downsizing to the seascape apartments on Clontarf Road. Super successful builder Sean McKeon developed the two-block complex last year through his MKN Properties vehicle, which had accumulated… Read more »

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Consuelo O’Connor

JODIE RONAN’S HORSEPLAY

Date: May 18, 2016 - High Society

INTERESTING to see Jodie Ronan, daughter of Johnny ‘Buccaneer’ Ronan, popping up in the High Court in relation to one of daddy’s many legal battles. Jodie has recently scaled back her involvement in the Ronan empire. The 32-year-old Jodie Ronan is listed on her LinkedIn page as chief operating officer of Johnny’s Ronan Group Real… Read more »

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Donal Flinn

IN THE ROUGH AT DRUID’S GLEN

Date: May 18, 2016 - High Society

THE HAPLESS members of Druid’s Glen Golf Club in Co Wicklow got a surprise last week when a vulture fund sought to appoint a receiver to the club, where relations between members and management have been strained in recent times. The threat was postponed, at least, by the installation of an examiner at the club,… Read more »

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bog cuttings

Bog Cuttings (20 May 2016)

Date: May 18, 2016 - Bog Cuttings

CLAIMED ‘KNIFE’ WAS FOR CHECKING TYRES “DO you not know who I fucking am? I’m Hairy Paddy’s son.” So said Terry McDonagh (28), An Sruthán, Castlebar to a garda after the latter was called to the Lidl store, Castlebar, on January 12. Gardaí were alerted by the manager after McDonagh was suspected of stealing a… Read more »

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NAUGHTEN’S SPLIT PERSONALITY

Date: May 18, 2016 - Fowl Emissions

HAVING heard Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary calling for cyclists to be shot and Danny Healy-Rae insisting that climate change is God-made, environmentalists could have been forgiven for thinking they had endured enough bad jokes for one week. Then Enda Kenny stood up in the Dáil, said he was going to “restructure the Government to align it… Read more »

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Lynn Boylan

SF MOVES AGAINST O’BRIEN “MONOPOLY”

Date: May 18, 2016 - Fit to Print?

FANS of The Irish Times and Irish Examiner – but not those of the Irish Independent – will have read recently a report on media monopoly in Ireland (part of the EU’s Media Pluralism Monitor project), which said Denis O’Brien enjoyed a dominant position within the print and commercial radio sectors. The Irish section of… Read more »

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Politically correct?

Date: May 18, 2016 - Fit to Print?

DOES Irish Times columnist and ex-Fianna Fáil back room functionary, Noel Whelan, not believe he should retract and apologise for his entirely erroneous and faintly ridiculous assertion that Sinn Féin holds “no parliamentary meetings in either the Oireachtas or Stormont”? In a most original column Whelan wrote recently that Gerry Adams should resign the SF… Read more »

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Vincent Browne

VINCENT BROWNE’S SUCCESSOR

Date: May 18, 2016 - Fit to Print?

TV3 management is anxiously calculating just how long Vincent Browne will wait before retiring from his late night show and is scouring the media for the very particular type of personality who might fill his slot. Browne’s own timeline and retirement plans are crucial as Ivan Yates year long American sojourn means he will be… Read more »

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LABOUR PARTY FACING CIVIL WAR

Date: May 18, 2016 - Last Refuge

THE trouble with the six Labour TDs’ plot to stop the seventh, Alan Kelly, becoming party leader is that a negative strategy usually leads to negative results. The TDs’ priority has not been who to elect but who not to elect, regardless of the consequences which, in this case, could lead Labour from temporary, if… Read more »

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