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VOL 41 NO 23

Date: November 30, 2023 -

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Budget Jack Chambers Nicki Minaj B’Tselem Phil Hogan UCD IRTA DIGI Katy Brown Rory Godson Pallonji Mistry Shark Hanlon Frances Ruane Taste of Dublin Listowel Writers’ Week Paddy Curran Harvey Norman Anton Savage Paul Hourican Enda O’Coineen PfP Red C Poll IFTA Ben Gilroy Luke Comer Sue Spence Fingleton Aubrey McCarthy Matt Cooper Parker Green Danny McConnell Gayle Killilea Maura Derivan Ed Honohan INS Arts Council EDAF Emuse Rosslare Golf Club Mairead Casey Colm O’Rourke Stephen Connolly Peter Aiken John Malone Tom Barry Anthony Halpin Ian Kehoe Kevin Bakhurst Geraldine O’Leary Dennis Horgan RUSI Gareth McAllister Ryevale House Joe Macken RUC Omagh Patrick Connolly Paddy Cosgrave The Ditch Newstalk Fake Tan Fred Logue Ian Paisley Sean O’Riordan Margaret Sweeney Jay Bourke Ellie Kisyombe Francesca McDonagh Ted Cunningham National Space Centre An Irish Goodbye Oscar Robert Quirke Ciara Kelly Executive Women Gathering Doug Taylor Florian Haufe Robbie Henshaw Bill Shipsey Breaking the Silence L’Ecrivain Ronan McNally National Lottery Michael Roche Energy Action Balls.ie Newspapers VAT Abbey Theatre Patricia Madden Irish Banking Culture Board Randox Aoife Gallagher Book Dalai Lama Trinity Trevor White RTÉ Chairperson Shane Houlihan Noel Smyth IKC Bob Geldof Landlord Ireland Neutrality Ukraine

CHARLIE MCCONALOGUE’S EXTENSIONS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

THERE HAS been some odd behaviour by agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue in relation to vacancies on the board of the Irish National Stud (INS). Irish Farmers Journal/Irish Field chairman Matt Dempsey’s second term ended in February this year but it was not until August that McConalogue actually replaced Dempsey, choosing former Irish Times chairman Dan… Read more »

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FF DUBS OUT TO GET McENTEE

Date: November 30, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

MORE THAN one media reference last weekend to Fianna Fáil backbenchers’ anger at Helen McEntee spells internal coalition trouble for the justice minister, especially as the FF group consists of more than just a few backbenchers. And the group has been campaigning on law and… Read more »

FIGHTING EXTREMISM

Date: November 30, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

THE Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) presents as a welcome antidote to all things extreme. It also claims to be “fiercely independent” in the intro to its recent report on far-right influence on social media, which was given prominent coverage in the Irish Times last… Read more »

STANDING BACK AND STANDING BY

Date: November 30, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

FAR-RIGHT activists have been accustomed to the policy of Drew Harris for the gardaí to stand back as they have not only pushed the Overton window further to the right but also pushed their luck on the streets. As soon as Ireland First member Philip Dwyer heard of the stabbing attack on Parnell Square, he… Read more »

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FRANCES RUANE’S REPORTS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

GOLDHAWK PRESUMES there will be little enough Christmas spirit on show between the Arts Council (AC) and the Abbey Theatre this month as the touchy subject of money continues to come between them. Fans of Goldhawk are well aware that Abbey chair Frances Ruane had to commission two separate consultancy reports in the light of… Read more »

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POOR FARMERS SHOCK!

Date: November 30, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

Despite the constant moaning and demands for bailouts coming from the sector, overall agriculture incomes have improved in recent years. However, according to the outgoing president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Pat McCormack, “it’s very hard to sit back and watch farm families’ incomes decimated, their livelihoods diminished and extinguished”. Pat McCormack… Read more »

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THE HOT AIR BRIGADE

Date: November 30, 2023 - The Hot Air Brigade

I think we need to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. Leo Varadkar speaking before the Dublin disorder, The Week in Politics, RTÉ, submitted by reader I am worn down by trying to highlight the systemic and structural issues within the fraying fabric of the urban ecosystem. Una Mullally on… Read more »

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LEGAL ARM OF CLIMATE MOVEMENT?

Date: November 30, 2023 - Fowl Emissions

Prestigious Dublin law firm McCann FitzGerald seems keen to bring its moral authority and intellectual rigour to bear on the climate crisis, judging by an article on its website that poses the “burning question” of whether the Government’s 2019 Climate Action Plan “is a sufficient response to ‘climate breakdown’.” Another post, with a photo of… Read more »

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Climate Disinformation Coillte Climate Action EU Livestock NDC Claude Etchelamendy Ed Brophy Richard Boyd-Barrett Kish Dale Crammond Frank Mitloehner Shell Greenwashing Meta Data Centres Ireland

JOHN MULHERN’S JETS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Fowl Emissions

Kerry Airport CEO John Mulhern has applied for permission to build a new mini-terminal for private jets at the Farranfore facility, so that wealthy visitors to the Kingdom needn’t mix with the peasantry. Private jet usage has soared globally, with over three million flights last year, and Ireland punches above its weight. Private jets are… Read more »

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THE ROADS TO GOD KNOWS WHERE

Date: November 30, 2023 - Northwind

On NOVEMBER 23, one of the Irish Times’s unionist columnists, Newton Emerson, examined cross-border funding from Irish governments and concluded that it doesn’t come up to the mark. He was especially scathing about Leo Varadkar’s “broken promise” of £400m for the A5 dual carriageway from Aughnacloy to Derry. As transport minister, Varadkar cancelled that commitment… Read more »

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McENTEE: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ENDS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Last Refuge

UNLESS SOME additional, damaging information emerges in the next week or so, justice minister Helen McEntee will survive the current crisis. However, the real damage is not that inflicted on the minister in her role as guardian of the nation and the streets of the… Read more »

LOYAL MEDIA ‘NO’ TO RESIGNATIONS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Last Refuge

There was much vexed huffing and puffing from Government politicians and the media alike last weekend over the perceived failure of the justice minister and Garda commissioner – Helen McEntee and Drew Harris respectively – to either anticipate or contend with the O’Connell Street anarchy last week. But most of it was for the optics,… Read more »

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FINE GAEL – THE UNITED IRELAND PARTY

Date: November 30, 2023 - Last Refuge

LEO VARADKAR recently revived the old title of Fine Gael, the United Ireland Party, in the introduction to the party’s policy on the north. The first sentence in the FG document, entitled Northern Ireland and the future of our shared island, says: “Bunreacht na hÉireann… Read more »

Ivan Yates Nell McCafferty RTÉ Lord Laird Intro Matchmaking NewsBrands Martin McGuinness Dún Laoghaire Pat Leahy Cormac Lucey John Cooney Irish Journalism Awards Steve Aiken Anton Savage John Downing Lucinda Creighton Marina Sologub Eilis O'Hanlon Ian Kehoe Danny McConnell Sindo O'Connor Mediahuis Stephen Collins Book Justine McCarthy Rewriting the Troubles Lynn Ruane Sinn Féin

HELEN MCENTEE’S BAD PRESS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Fit to Print?

IRISH TIMES political editor Pat Leahy directed his sardonic derision at Helen McEntee last weekend following her embarrassing efforts to posture as a plausible justice minister on television following the mayhem in Dublin city centre. “‘This is not,’ said Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, ‘about… Read more »

SINS OF THE FATHER

Date: November 30, 2023 - Fit to Print?

IT MAY be a coincidence but the fact that Sunday Independent columnist David Quinn wrote two weekly columns supporting Israel in three weeks (not “a column” as Quinn claims) probably has something to do with a parent that had similar views. These columns were written during the period of daily slaughter of civilians and children… Read more »

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BOG CUTTINGS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Bog Cuttings

TOUR DE FARCE A BENCH warrant has been issued for a man convicted in absentia for engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour and public intoxication after he cycled at a garda brandishing his middle finger. Drogheda District Court heard that, on March 1 this year, Fabian McKenna (27) of Beechwood Drive, Drogheda, was spotted cycling… Read more »

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CATHERINE MARTIN’S EXPERTS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Behind the Scenes

THE CLOSING date for applications to join the expert advisory committee of Culture Ireland (CI) has now passed, although it is unclear just how many people will be given the nod by arts minister Catherine Martin. Culture Ireland is one of the channels used for government-allocated funding in the arts and culture sector and is… Read more »

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Tailored Films Screen Ireland Perspectives DCCI Crescine Tarka Russell Lara Hickey Reality Check Sarah McInerney Irish Movies Paul Murray Arts Council Dublin Theatre Festival TWU Macdara Kelleher Richard Boyd Barrett DADC Cillian Murphy Terry McMahon Media Commission Ireland Kerlin Gallery Creative Ireland Section 481 Christine O’Donovan RTÉ Storyland NMI Board Vacancies IASCA Ossie Kilkenny RTÉ Original Programmes

TAX TREATS

Date: November 30, 2023 - Behind the Scenes

A PERUSAL of the list of beneficiaries of the Section 481 tax credit in the first nine months of 2023 reveals that 82 productions cashed in, with several recipients receiving the tax break for multiple productions. Larry Bass’s Shinawil was greenlighted for two productions in the €1m-€2 range, Clean Sweep and Maryland, and two in… Read more »

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WEXFORD WOES

Date: November 30, 2023 - Sport of Kings

A STANDARD Wexford meeting in November wouldn’t seem like a candidate for too much drama but there was plenty on show between the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board starter Paddy Graffin and the Shark Hanlon-trained Eikonix. The horse was due to contest a low-grade handicap hurdle, having refused to take part on his previous run at… Read more »

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ELLIOTT’S ENTRIES

Date: November 30, 2023 - Sport of Kings

GORDON ELLIOTT claims he is addicted to training winners and he pulled out all the stops when targeting the €100,000 Troytown Chase at his local Navan Racecourse, fielding 14 of the 20 runners. Elliott’s blunderbuss tactics paid dividends as he trained four of the top six finishers but, not surprisingly, there were sour grapes among… Read more »

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LOUISE ENGLISH’S NEW ADDRESS

Date: November 30, 2023 - High Society

WITH A hefty €12m price tag, Louise English and Colm Duggan are offloading their D4 pile and, while they have a substantial mews adjacent to the main house, the high-powered couple now also claim an address in the Algarve. They have both maintained high profiles in the business community with ex-PWC number cruncher English managing… Read more »

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MALIN CORP IN NEED OF A MIRACLE CURE

Date: November 30, 2023 - Moneybags

IT IS hard to understand exactly what is going on inside Malin Corp, the hotchpotch pharmaceutical investment holding company that Kelly Martin set up eight years ago before bailing two years later. What is clear is that Malin is in trouble as the value of its assets has plummeted, with a cash cushion looking like… Read more »

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CAIRN HOMES’S MONTROSE BONANZA SECURES SHARE PRICE

Date: November 30, 2023 - Moneybags

IT IS now over five years since Cairn Homes lashed out a huge €107.5m for RTÉ’s 8.64 acre site in Montrose, south Co Dublin. Paying such a chunky premium for an admittedly well-located site, but without planning permission, was always going to represent a gamble but it looks to have finally paid off and the… Read more »

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MICHAEL WOODLOCK’S TAX BILL

Date: November 30, 2023 - Briefcases

GOLDHAWK’S OLD pal, Michael ‘Flancare’ Woodlock, finds himself in a spot of bother with the dreaded taxman, although this will hardly come as a surprise, given his own description of his relationship with the Revenue Commissioners. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing with Woodlock’s bankers. Woodlock’s run-in with the Revenue last month is his second setback this… Read more »

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WAVF Castleknock Hospitality BAL Susan Bergin Tixserve EOG Fergal Naughton hot-water-brigade def

JOHN TEELING’S ENDEAVOUR

Date: November 30, 2023 - Briefcases

GOLDHAWK spies a notice filed by Companies House in the UK advising that Endeavour Oil & Gas Ltd (EOG) is about to be struck off the register “unless cause is shown to the contrary”. It comes four days after the company filed its 2022 accounts last week. EOG, a subsidiary of John Teeling’s exploration vehicle,… Read more »

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STUART MCGOLDRICK MOVES

Date: November 30, 2023 - Briefcases

FAST-GROWING digital mental health group Spectrum has just filed some unhealthy-looking figures but it looks like boss Stuart McGoldrick moved to raise a bucketload of cash at just the right time. He has also moved from Drumcondra to a spectacular new pile in Co Kildare. Spectrum works with the likes of Laya Healthcare, providing mental… Read more »

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FIANNA FÁIL BACKS ISRAEL

Date: November 15, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

THE HAND-WRINGING about divisions within EU states over the Israeli massacre of civilians in Gaza is one thing. But there has also been a clear division of perspective between the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, as well as between their respective parties, with contrasting statements about Israel’s… Read more »

DERMOT DESMOND’S CELTIC CROSS

Date: November 15, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

DERMOT DESMOND will be looking forward to the end of this year, as his control of Glasgow Celtic continues to deliver defeats both on and off the pitch. DD has long held sway at Celtic, where he is easily the biggest shareholder, although he prefers to keep as far behind the scenes as possible, hence… Read more »

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LUCY IN THE SKY WITH ISRAELIS

Date: November 15, 2023 - Affairs of the Nation

A FAVOURITE tactic of western militarist think tanks, PR firms and lobbyists is to present as centre ground moderates that oppose extremism of the left and right variety. Usually, these are western militarists in disguise whose overwhelming emphasis is on combatting Muslim ‘enemies of the… Read more »

PSNI: A NEW BROOM?

Date: November 15, 2023 - Northwind

A new chief constable for the PSNI has been appointed in double quick time. Jon Boutcher (58), former chief constable of Bedfordshire police 2015-19, was confirmed on November 8 after four weeks as acting chief constable when a calamitous series of mishaps forced the resignation of his predecessor. Boutcher is a vastly experienced police officer… Read more »

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FOREIGN AGENTS THREAT TO GARDAÍ

Date: November 15, 2023 - Last Refuge

JUSTICE MINISTER Helen McEntee’s latest problem concerns that most powerful lobby, senior Garda officers worried about huge tax bills for anyone that fills the current vacancy as deputy commissioner. An anomaly in the taxation rules on pensions is the problem and various security correspondents have been mobilised by their ‘senior security sources’ to inform the… Read more »

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EOGHAN HARRIS’S LONG WAR

Date: November 15, 2023 - Fit to Print?

IRISH TIMES correspondent Ronan McGreevy celebrated the “bravura performance” of Eoghan Harris when the latter concluded last week’s conference on southern Protestants in Dublin’s Buswell’s Hotel. Eoghan Harris complained of Protestant failure to recognise their dire predicament. The former senator and Sunday Independent columnist urged the Prods present to inhabit his historical imagination. It was… Read more »

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PIPPA O’CONNOR’S PLUG

Date: November 15, 2023 - High Society

PIPPA O’CONNOR is expanding her empire with a new range of cosmetics and she must have been delighted with the drooling profile in the Sunday Times at the weekend that announced her latest move, Poco Beauty. Her former business partner will no doubt have read the 1,800-word plug. Readers were informed that Pippa was “radiantly… Read more »

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JACQUELINE HALL’S CULTURAL CREDENTIALS

Date: November 15, 2023 - High Society

SO IT’S welcome to the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) for Jacqueline Hall, public relations hot shot and daughter of former Fine Gael matriarch Nuala Fennell (who was herself a significant shareholder in the PR company now controlled by Jacqueline). Well known in Blueshirt circles, Hall also appears to be an aspiring culture vulture. The holding… Read more »

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SISTERS CASHING IN

Date: November 15, 2023 - Behind the Scenes

AS USUAL, it was rather late in the day (and following a couple of queries by Goldhawk) when Désirée Finnegan’s Screen Ireland (SI) eventually got around to publishing its funding decisions made for the second quarter of this year. The total funding for the three months topped €14m and plenty of familiar female faces feature…. Read more »

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