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Galway Builders €9m judgement

Date: February 11, 2016 - Briefcases

SPARE A THOUGHT for Galway builder Tommy Finnerty, who found himself on the receiving end of a whopping €9.2m judgment, courtesy of Danske Bank. Finnerty is one of the principals in the west of Ireland property development outfit, O’Mahony Finnerty, although his former business associate, Fergal O’Mahony, is now out of the picture, having been… Read more »

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Eamon Gilmore

Matthew J Connolly’s Industrial Strife

Date: February 11, 2016 - Briefcases

DUBLIN businessman Matthew J Connolly is the principal of Connolly Shoes, a business that has been the focus of various complaints in recent years over breaches of employment law. Four workers of one of his companies, Macow & Associates Ltd, are owed awards of more than €100,000 since 2011, which the company failed to pay… Read more »

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Kathryn Thomas

Gwynne Thomas Vs Musgrave

Date: February 11, 2016 - Briefcases

CARLOW businessman Gwynne Thomas – father to RTÉ star Kathryn Thomas – is a man under pressure these days and, late last year, Nama installed receivers to a number of properties in Carlow previously owned by a company called Thomas Thompson Holdings Ltd (TTH), where the businessman is one of the principals. TTH’s main asset… Read more »

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StephenGlancey

C&C’s share buyback programme unfair to investors

Date: February 11, 2016 - Moneybags

IT TOOK the US share activist, Daniel Lewis, who runs the Orange Capital hedge fund in New York, to really shake up Stephen Glancey in C&C. The yank behind Orange Capital had been on Glancey’s back since secretly building up a 4.9% stake through the use of derivatives. The Sunday Times reported at the weekend… Read more »

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TommyBreen

DCC’s high energy performance

Date: February 11, 2016 - Moneybags

THE €464m takeover of the big French Butagaz liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business is a real game-changer for Tommy Breen in DCC. In the past, Moneybags has highlighted that DCC needs a clear strategic focus on its very successful energy division, and should forget about the small, erratic earners that make up the rest of… Read more »

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Free Lunch

Date: February 11, 2016 - Sport of Kings

THEY SAY there is no such thing as a free lunch, but Joe Keeling’s Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is handing out complimentary meals to the top end of Irish racing. While the punters have to suffer inflated prices for inferior deep fried fare and those working on the bottom rungs have to pay for their… Read more »

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Meta Osborne

META OSBORNE’S DRUGS PRESCRIPTION

Date: February 11, 2016 - Sport of Kings

OVER A YEAR in the making, the long awaited report by the Irish Thoroughbred Industry Anti-Doping Task Force, chaired by Senior Steward Meta Osborne, was published last week. The ‘task force’ was made up of the usual ‘industry’ suspects, but with Osborne at its head, it was always going to be a Bowler Hat Baby…. Read more »

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Willie Penrose

CUTTING OFF SIMON COVENEY

Date: February 11, 2016 - Sport of Kings

WHILE Simon Coveney is regarded by followers of the sport of kings as a fairly shrewd operator, his attempt to pull a fast one during the final stages of the Dáil debate on the Horse Racing Act, 2015 did not go to plan. In an uncharacteristic move up the inside, Coveney attempted to introduce a… Read more »

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Willie Mullins

THE MULLINS FACTOR

Date: February 11, 2016 - Sport of Kings

SPEAKING in the Dáil during the debate on the Horse Racing Ireland Act 2015, which was passed on January 20, Labour’s Willie Penrose called for the implementation of a finding in the Indecon consultancy report that a value for money audit be conducted on Joe Keeling’s HRI. After chief executive Brian Kavanagh announced further downward… Read more »

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Aisling O’Sullivan

BIG MAGGIE – GAIETY THEATRE

Date: February 11, 2016 - ReviewsTheatre

BIG MAGGIE is back, and cynics have plenty of reason to raise an eyebrow. The timing of this revival by Druid – a nearly identical restaging of the company’s 2011 production – looks purely commercial. The production taps the country’s mood: Maggie Polpin feels like she was written to attract the noisy supporters of the… Read more »

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the-scrap

THE SCRAP – GENE KERRIGAN (DOUBLEDAY IRELAND)

Date: February 11, 2016 - Reviews

AS THE 1916 centenary approaches and the commemorative market becomes increasingly crowded, Gene Kerrigan’s book traces the involvement of one rebel unit – F Company, 2nd Battalion Irish Volunteers. Based in Fairview, the group included Charlie Saurin, Arthur ‘Boss’ Shields, Oscar Traynor and Harry Boland. With other rebels, they took over the GPO on Easter… Read more »

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Evicting Paddy Dunning

Date: February 11, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

‘MR TEMPLE BAR’ Paddy Dunning is used to being on the wrong end of bad news in recent years as a number of his businesses have struggled badly. However, the National Wax Museum in Dublin, across the street from Trinity College, has been one of the few bright spots he could point to. It has… Read more »

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SineadMcCoole

LORETTA CLARKE’S SETTLEMENT

Date: February 11, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

DÉTENTE has broken out in Mayo, where a rather interesting looking defamation action has just been settled in Castlebar Circuit Court. The case in question featured the indefatigable Loretta Clarke and the high-flying historian, Sinéad McCoole. Both parties are well known to each other as a result of their significant roles in the establishment of… Read more »

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Heather Humphreys

HEATHER HUMPHREYS’ EMPTY SEATS

Date: February 11, 2016 - Behind the Scenes

AS THE politicians go about trying to get re-elected, it’s business as usual on the various state boards. In the case of the arts sector, however, there are an awful lot of vacancies to be filled and Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys could well be preparing to make a number of… Read more »

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Eddie O’Leary’s Profits

Date: February 11, 2016 - High Society

CONGRATULATIONS to Eddie O’Leary, younger sibling of high-flying Ryanair boss, Michael. While he may not be in the same league as his big brother when it comes to earning the spondoolicks, Eddie is proving no slouch. Mick O’Leary owns the Gigginstown Stud outside Mullingar and has proven a most successful racehorse owner. Gigginstown is run… Read more »

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Michelle Morrison

ARISE LADY MORRISON

Date: February 11, 2016 - High Society

THERE WAS plenty of coverage of rock legend Van Morrison receiving his knighthood from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace earlier this month. While Van was accompanied by his beaming daughter (from his first marriage), Shana, there was no sign of Michelle Morrison née Rocca, his estranged wife. However the former model can now bask in… Read more »

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Feargal O’Rourke

FEARGAL O’ROURKE’S MANSION

Date: February 11, 2016 - High Society

WITH IRELAND’S Six Nations campaign underway, one man who will be paying particular attention to Joe Schmidt’s boys is ‘celebrity accountant’ Feargal O’Rourke, who sits on the finance committee of the IRFU. It turns out he’s also quite the whiz when it comes to the property market. The high-flying number cruncher first registered outside the… Read more »

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Rich Ricci

RICH RICCI’S NEXT GAMBLE

Date: February 11, 2016 - High Society

THE COLOURFUL banker Rich Ricci has just been appointed chairman of the Irish bookmaking operation, Betbright. Best known on this side of the Irish Sea as one of the biggest clients of racehorse trainer Willie Mullins, the tweed loving moneybags has clearly decided he wants even more exposure to the sport of kings. The former… Read more »

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bog cuttings

Bog Cuttings

Date: February 11, 2016 - Bog Cuttings

SLAPPED DOCTOR ON HEAD A MAN who assaulted two doctors and two nurses has been jailed for six months. Liam Christopher Harkin, of John Street, pleaded guilty to four charges of common assault. The 25-year-old also admitted disorderly behaviour. Derry Magistrates Court heard Harkin was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital by ambulance after he collapsed in… Read more »

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BEN GILROY’S ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Date: February 11, 2016 - Beyond the Pale

ONE of the fringe political parties involved in this month’s general election is Direct Democracy Ireland (DDI), which is running around 20 candidates, including Goldhawk’s old friend from Meath East, Ben Gilroy. Self-styled man-of-the-people Gilroy has been involved in a number of legal actions in recent years involving banks, receivers, etc. He doesn’t appear to… Read more »

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Ged Nash

LABOUR’S LOSING LEADERS

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

LABOUR’S election strategy committee in 2015 was initially dominated by its four senior ministers, Joan Burton, Alan Kelly, Brendan Howlin and Alex White. Pat Rabbitte graciously agreed to attend later on, thus lending the committee a gravitas of Churchillian (circa 1945) dimensions. More recently this committee has been replaced by mainly full time functionaries supplemented… Read more »

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Rathdown Shatter Vs White

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

LOOKS like Fine Gael candidate, solicitor Josepha Madigan (author of Negligent Behaviour, a novel containing “steamy sex sessions”), is heading for a Dáil seat in that most rarified constituency, Dublin Rathdown. Independent ex-Blueshirt Shane Ross is topping the poll in Paddy Power’s constituency odds and stands at 1/50 with Josie second at 4/11. The really… Read more »

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gerry-adams

ADAMS TO LOSE TOP SPOT IN LOUTH?

Date: February 11, 2016 - Last Refuge

GERRY ADAMS will not be deposed as Sinn Féin leader nationally any time soon, but he could well lose his pre-eminence in Louth to lowly SF councillor, Imelda Munster. SF is targeting two seats in three five-seat constituencies and are certain of attaining this in Donegal with sitting TDs Pearse Doherty and Padraig Mac Lochlainn… Read more »

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Union Blueshirts

Date: February 11, 2016 - Last Refuge

WHO are the Larkinites in the Fine Gael parliamentary party and why did five of them (out of 94) sign up for the Ictu charter (living wage, right to union representation, fair conditions etc?) Senator Hildegarde Naughton is one signatory and her electoral battle in five-seat Galway West involves two strong FG candidates – TDs… Read more »

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MONEY ON FF TO TAKE SIX IN DUBLIN

Date: February 11, 2016 - Last Refuge

DUBLIN is supposed to be a graveyard for Fianna Fáil but perusal of Paddy Power’s constituency odds – a combination of research and money on candidates – indicates that a resurrection of sorts is on the cards in the capital. Right now FF has not a single Dáil seat out of eleven in Dublin, including… Read more »

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RTÉ top job

Date: February 11, 2016 - Fit to Print?

SUNDAY INDEPENDENT denials that Denis O’Brien’s right hand woman, Lucy Gaffney, has applied for the job as RTÉ director general are doubly interesting. Two articles in last weekend’s Sindo contained OTT denials that the former INM director and chair of Communicorp had applied for the position, describing such reports, twice, as “total rubbish”. One denial… Read more »

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Paul McNamara

TWO McNAMARAS WORLDS APART

Date: February 11, 2016 - Fit to Print?

THE High Court may shortly be required to assess damages for defamation arising from a Sunday Worst special on internal convulsions within Sinn Féin just over a year ago, which involved all manner of alleged dirty tricks against TD Brian Stanley. As a result of the SF internal row, two senior members were expelled from… Read more »

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Denis-OBrien

O’BRIEN’S MEDIA GREEK CHORUS

Date: February 11, 2016 - Fit to Print?

THE preferential treatment and soft soap interview that Newstalk Breakfast host Chris Donoghue gave to disgraced former minister, Michael Lowry, last week is just one more example of station owner Denis O’Brien’s influence on the media. But the manner in which the story was rapidly transformed by the Irish Independent into a quite different story… Read more »

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MICHAEL RING’S WESTPORT HEADACHE

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

WITH COUNTLESS local battles being fought around the country as the election gains momentum, in Mayo the issue of Westport House has garnered more than its fair share of headlines, not least due to the very unusual timing associated with the sale. Junior minister Michael Ring was not impressed but neither were many of the… Read more »

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LisaChambers

FIANNA FÁIL ON A ROLL

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

HAVE Fine Gael strategists been seduced by their own propaganda? The notion that they are fighting for civilisation and seats against the Provo-Bolsheviks of Sinn Féin is nonsense as both parties are fishing out of entirely different pools. But FG is contesting for votes and seats with Fianna Fáil and the Blueshirts may have taken… Read more »

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PEGIDA TO RUN IN ELECTION?

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THE leader of the Aryan super race in Ireland, Pegida founder Peter O’Loughlin, has until High Noon today (Thursday) to declare his intended general election candidacy in Cork North Central. Having recently collected nomination forms, O’Loughlin loftily declared to the Cork City Sheriff’s office that he would revisit the office by 12 noon on Thursday… Read more »

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Donegal Councillors court date

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THE CURRENT chairman of Donegal County Council, Fianna Fáil’s Ciaran Brogan, is due before Letterkenny District Court next month on a drink-driving related charge. The charge relates to an alleged incident last June at Ballymacool, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, in which Brogan was arrested in connection with an offence under Section 5(2) of the Road Traffic… Read more »

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michael-orourke

RADIO INTERFERENCE FOR SETANTA

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

THERE WAS plenty of back-slapping going on this month after the announcement of the deal that sees Frank Gleeson’s Mercantile group of bars and restaurants ‘merge’ with the Capital Bars group, controlled by Setanta Sports founders Michael O’Rourke, Leonard Ryan and Mark O’Meara. O’Rourke was also recently toasting a multi-million euro deal that will see… Read more »

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joan-burton

COALITION DIRTY TRICKS

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

PAT RABBITTE (in)famously remarked that politicians say certain things during election campaigns, but Enda Kenny and Joan Burton’s cynical response to the gangland shootings is remarkable, with the Tánaiste in particular abandoning all semblance of traditional Labour values. Their remarks are also an effort to deflect public anger at the Government’s responsibility for the Garda’s… Read more »

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Lucinda

KATE O’CONNELL Vs LUCINDA IN DBS

Date: February 11, 2016 - Last Refuge

ENDA KENNY and most of Fine Gael in Dublin Bay South would be ecstatic if they were able to retain two seats in Sir Garret’s old Dublin South-East constituency. But they would all die and go to heaven if they took out renegade Lucinda Creighton in the process. To this end, party handlers, along with… Read more »

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sean-dorgan

MICHEÁL MARTIN’S FF MACHINE

Date: February 11, 2016 - Affairs of the Nation

IT’S back to the future for the Fianna Fáil election campaign with most of the core group of handlers being long time party strategists going back at least a decade and more. Peter McDonagh, aka the Child of Prague, due to his part-time domicile there, has been heavily involved in the last five general elections,… Read more »

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